The Duelist's Spirit
by YamiRuss
Summary: Some view international boarding school as a punishment for youthful indiscretions. Some see it as a way to escape a discouraging home life. The goal may be sharpening your social skills, expanding your academic duel count, or combating a secret organization out to fulfill an ancient prophecy that ends the world. Better build your deck wisely if you want to graduate.
1. The World of Dueling

**Disclaimer: The rating I've chosen is for creative freedom. People will swear, make lewd comments, and generally behave much as you see from people around you every day in school and work. The rating may grow stricter as the story gets darker in the future.**

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Chapter 1: The World of Dueling

The scope of entertainment spread far and wide over centuries of evolution leading to the modern day. ESPN revolutionized socially acceptable gaming by airing Online Poker on live television. That's right: Players don't even sit at the table together; rather, they all log in at the station and their images are superimposed beside one another while a computer algorithm sorts and deals imaged playing cards to their respective desktops. Judging by the ratings, it's far more exciting than it sounds. Psychologists have questioned and studied the phenomenon for years, with the leading hypothesis as one called the Armchair Player Theory: Every spectator believes "I could do it better" and so continues to watch.

Thus, it was of little surprise to find games of strategy growing in popularity. _Tabletop_ 's ratings expanded until an entire television station devoted itself to gaming. After decades, the girth of strategy games warranted a second gaming station, and later a third. The gaming networks laid claim to all games of mental plasticity in which physical prowess was unnecessary while ESPN was forced to return to airing real sports involving balls and physical athleticism. Many yet retain their primitive notion that viewing sports is acceptable whereas viewing strategy games is nerdy, but society had already shifted without the air of such people.

A classic card game once called _Magic and Wizards_ pitted one player's army of monsters against another, aided by magic cards to improve their strengths. Soon the Kickstarter game gained enough popularity to develop unique terminology and a new name: _Duel Monsters_. Soon after, new trap cards—fast-acting magic cards—added to the gameplay. Worldwide tournaments became a regular occurrence. It seemed as though everyone had played the game at some point in their own lives when a large corporation bought all rights to the game and changed its name to _Yu-Gi-Oh! Gaming_ , calling the players "duelists" as homage to the game's previous title.

For the sake of profit, the game was enhanced for younger players. Printed cards possessed simpler effects so that even children could play without difficulty. Soon, children became the leading duelists as a result of one resource: time. Adults are forced to occupy their time with jobs, many of which have nothing to do with Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. (Ludicrous, right?) But children have no jobs, easy schoolwork, and a misguided belief that they have nothing in common with the opposite sex. With all of that free time, they could study their cards and study the game until they were better than their parents, better than other kids' parents, and better than the people who created the cards.

Early on, few were able to make any kind of living as a professional duelist. One usually had to own a comic book shop for that to become a viable option. And so many of those children grew up to discard the game in their adult lives until they had children to whom they could pass on their decks and knowledge. Some sought to ensure their children gained the most knowledge and hired professional duelists as tutors. It wasn't long before the money-making scheme popped into some young entrepreneur's mind: Open an entire school devoted to gaming, originally as extracurricular training but expanding every year until it grew into an academic institution.

More schools sprang into existence around the globe, but the one truly international school lay upon an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Why there? Because what better way is there to devote the students to studying than to cut off all outside distraction? The island's lush environment and varied terrains provide self-sufficiency to the inhabitants. Corporate planes offer transportation on a weekly basis and helicopters are available when spur-of-the-moment travel is required. Tuition runs high, and living conditions are risky given island isolation, but anyone accepted by the rigorous standards of Duel Academy finds they are hard-pressed to pass up such an illustrious opportunity.

Our story begins with one such teenager.

Bryan Knight couldn't wait to get things rolling. General knowledge testing had been a snap, and now he was looking at the best opening hand he ever experienced.

The invitation for application to Duel Academy had come to him following his success at a regional tournament. First place had eluded him by the luck of the draw, or the lack thereof. If only he had been placed in the opposite bracket, he could have avoided dueling against Gozen Match. No one else in the tournament ran that card except for one kid! But then that kid lost in the final match against the most overrated duelist to ever win a regional tournament—a guy Bryan could have taken with half the deck tied behind his back.

Seated on one side of the duel cube, Bryan waited eagerly to see who would go first. In succession, each of the lights on the table illuminated until the display board in the center spelled out the name _Andrew_. "I guess that's you," he said.

"Indeed it is," said Andrew. Adding to his opening hand, he drew one card from the top of his deck. He lifted one green card from his hand and placed it face-up on the table. "Pot of Duality," he said.

As Andrew spoke, the lights on the table flashed in sequence until a ewer appeared on top of Andrew's card. It wasn't a physical ewer that contained liquid—just a hologram created by the interplay of lights on the table. From his side of the ewer, Bryan saw a silver face with angular features. Andrew took three cards from the top of his deck, selected one to keep in his hand, and shuffled the other two back into the deck. As the card's effect resolved, Bryan watched the ewer rotate and display a green face like that of a goblin. It stuck out a thin tongue before the entire ewer faded.

"The effects here are amazing," said Bryan.

"You should see the tech we have on campus," Andrew replied.

Continuing his turn, Andrew said, "Harvest Angel of Wisdom (4: 1800/1000)." Lights shone once more and combined into a hologram of a golden angel sprouting massive wings from its boots. The angel lifted a winged horn to its face and loosed a low blare. "Also setting two cards face-down." When Andrew placed his two cards on the table, they appeared in holographic form with the generic logo backing of the dueling card.

"Now you're up."

He gave Bryan a curt nod, but the applicant had already noticed that the display board had shifted to present his full name. "Got it. I'll start things off with Polymerization." He smiled at the holographic spell card and the indistinct, dimensional rift that appeared above it. As soon as he threw two of his monsters into the rift, they would fuse together into a more powerful monster.

Andrew chuckled to himself. "I think I'll stop that one right away." He flipped up one of his face-down cards—a trap called Ultimate Providence. He placed one of the cards in his hand into the discard graveyard; suddenly the rift on Bryan's side of the table stabilized and disappeared. Andrew's trap prevented Bryan's card from even activating its effect.

"Alrighty then. Nothing but a minor setback. I play Elemental Hero Blazeman (4: 1200/1800)." His monster card appeared in much the form of a man dressed in orange, flame-licked armor. "When this guy is summoned, I get to take another Polymerization from my deck and add it to my hand."

"You don't have to explain the effect to me," said Andrew. He pointed to the display screen again. "It shows up right there."

"So it does. But that's a lot of reading to do at a moment's notice. If I explain it, you get the gist as it applies right now. Besides, Blazeman has two effects and only one can be used at a time. Anyway, now that I have another Polymerization, I'll use it." A dimensional rift identical to earlier appeared on the field.

"Anything to stop me this time?" Andrew shook his head. "Great. Then I can actually fuse together two of my monsters: Neos and Bubbleman combine to summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero (8: 2500/2000)." Out of the rift came a man clad from head to toe in white armor. A cape flowed from his back, and each step frosted the floor in ice.

With a grin on his face, Bryan said, "Let's battle!" In his mind, a dramatic flash of lightning signaled the start of the Battle Phase. "Absolute Zero attacks your Harvest Angel."

The man in white armor began sliding across the ice toward the golden angel, who hovered through the air at devastating speed. Suddenly the wings on Harvest Angel sprouted to full size from one side of the table to the other. The display board showed the card and effect for Honest: Andrew's monster gained attack power equal to Bryan's monster. Harvest Angel (+4300) blew its horn at Absolute Zero until the vibration caused the larger monster to shatter.

Bryan said, "That sucks." His Life Points—the score by which he continued to duel—fell by 1800 points from their original 8000, equal to the difference between the attacking strength of the two monsters.

Bryan 6200: Andrew 8000.

"Silver lining, though: When Absolute Zero leaves the field, your monster is destroyed." As described, Bryan's shattering monster struck the golden angel lethally with ice shards, dragging them each to their player's graveyards. "That leaves you wide open for an attack by Blazeman." The flame-armored man prepared his attack, pausing only for Andrew to choose whether to activate his other face-down card.

"Do you think attacking is wise when I might have a trap waiting for you?" he asked the applicant.

Bryan narrowed his eyes. "That's up to you, now, isn't it?"

As if determining whether the answer was acceptable, Andrew nodded slowly. "You're right. I will not activate anything in response to your attack." As a result, Blazeman threw a punch that expanded like a flamethrower until it struck the end of the table in front of Andrew and flared up. His Life Points dropped by Blazeman's attack strength.

Bryan 6200: Andrew 6800.

"Was that supposed to be a test?" Bryan asked. "Trying to convince me not to attack because of paranoia over a face-down card…"

"Everything is a test," said Andrew. "Winning this duel with me isn't your only judgment. The events are recorded for review by the school administrators. Your deck, the way you play, and how you respond to situations all factor into acceptance or rejection."

"Yeah, my bro figured that was the case for today. How am I doing so far?"

Andrew shrugged with uncertainty. "I don't want to judge you yet. There's still a lot of duel ahead of us."

"Fair enough, proctor. Then show me what you've got and I'll put together the perfect counter-strategy."

As the lights signaled the start of Andrew's turn, he placed a card face-down in the monster zone. "Defense mode. Your turn." It was a short turn, but Bryan assumed that could be because Andrew didn't have a lot of cards in his hand to choose from.

Meanwhile, Bryan drew the perfect spell card to swing the duel in his favor. "I play O – Oversoul, which revives one Elemental Hero in the graveyard." The holographic version of the spell produced a giant O that offered a view from the field into a dark, mist-filled underworld. "I choose Elemental Hero Neos (7: 2500/2000)." A man wearing white lycra climbed out of the graveyard through the O. He carried more physical bulk than any of Bryan's monsters yet. "Let's see what that monster is you're hiding."

Neos jumped high into the air, spun around, and dove with his fist extended. On collision, he hit like a missile, but Andrew's monster bent around the fist like gelatin, absorbing the damage as if it never happened.

"Marshmallon (3: 300/500)," said Andrew. Additionally, the display screen indicated that Bryan would lose 1000 points for attacking Marshmallon while it was face-down.

Bryan 5200: Andrew 6800.

Unfortunately for Bryan, that gelatinous mold meant Marshamllon wouldn't be destroyed in battle. "Alrighty then. If attacking is pointless, I will activate Blazeman's other ability: I can send any Elemental Hero from my deck to the graveyard to give Blazeman the same stats and ability for one turn. I'll send Necroshade to the grave."

Andrew smirked. "Does he have an effect to get around Marshmallon?"

"Nope. I just like knowing where he is, not buried in my deck. It's your turn."

Andrew only placed one card face-down in the spell/trap zone.

"That's it? This is going to be a slow duel."

"Does a slow duel bother you?" asked the proctor.

Shaking his head, Bryan answered, "Not at all. Patience is what separates the casual player from the truly skilled. I play Elemental Hero Bladedge (7: 2600/1800)." Bryan's new monster was a giant of a man clad entirely in gold and wielding a massive blade on either wrist.

"Skilled, or lucky," remarked Andrew. "Nice timing that you threw Necroshade exactly one turn before you drew Bladedge."

"Right? Especially since Necroshade's effect means I don't have to use tributes to summon a high-level monster for this turn. It only works once, but Bladedge is worth it because when he attacks Marshmallon (500), his attack pierces your defense and deals damage to your LP regardless. Unless you have something to stop my attack?"

"I do not."

"Then I take the lead."

Bryan 5200: Andrew 4700.

On his turn, Andrew picked up his card and immediately dropped it to the field. "Dark Hole." The field began to swirl as a black hole appeared from the center. So strong nothing could escape, all four monsters on the field were drawn in and sent to their graveyards.

"Probably smart," said Bryan. "This stops me from attacking you for 2000 points every turn. But it doesn't stop me from attacking. I use E – Emergency Call so I can take an Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand." A large E appeared on the field and promptly exploded. "I choose Elemental Hero Wildheart (4: 1500/1600)." The new monster was a shirtless man with an impressive physique carrying a sword as big as his body. "He'll attack, too, unless you have a card to stop him?"

"No."

"Too bad for you." Bryan also felt disappointed that Andrew didn't waste a trap card on this attack. The best part about Wildheart is that no matter what kind of trap his opponent set up, he's unaffected.

Bryan 5200: Andrew 3200.

"I'll put one card face-down in my second main phase. Now I'm done."

Andrew grabbed a card from his deck, looked at it, and put it away. "No move this turn."

"Tell me you didn't pay money for this deck," said Bryan. For a representative of the prestigious Duel Academy, it seemed that Andrew wasn't putting up the incredible fight everyone expected. Luck of the draw just didn't play out sometimes. Bryan knew that better than most duelists, hence he didn't razz Andrew too hard for struggling.

After drawing, Bryan said, "I'll discard a card to activate Twin Twisters. It destroys two cards on your side of the field." Aptly named, the wind whipped up two holographic cyclones on the field and blew away Andrew's two face-down cards. "Now Wildheart attacks again."

Bryan 5200: Andrew 1700.

This time when Andrew drew (ha!), he cracked a smile. "Meltiel, Sage of the Sky (4: 1600/1200)." His monster appeared as an angel in red and white, covered with feathers and surrounded by a ring of light. "And attack." Meltiel's ring shone brightly, rotated around the angel's body, and duplicated into another ring as it shot forth, wrapped around Wildheart, and dissolved him.

Bryan 5100: Andrew 1700.

For once, it was Bryan's turn to run out of moves. He held a monster in his hand—King of the Swamp—but it was a weak fighter that he kept around because of its ability to bring Polymerization to his hand. Unfortunately, fusion only worked when he had monsters to fuse. "I've got nothing for this turn."

"Great," said Andrew. "Then we can end the duel. Attack."

"Direct attack," said Bryan. "I counter with Drowning Mirror Force. All of your monster gets shuffled back into the deck."

Chuckling, Andrew said, "My _only_ monster."

"Still. Since you have nothing left on the field at all, I've decided I will summon King of the Swamp (3: 500/100) this time." The ground turned to mush and a humanoid creature slowly emerged, covered in bog water. It flung a heavy glob of the swamp directly at Andrew.

Bryan 5100: Andrew 1200.

"I'll also set one card. Now you can go."

Andrew had a look on his face—the one Bryan knew well. This duel was over.

"One card face-down," said Andrew. Something about the way he played the card just a little bit too slowly made Bryan feel reassured that it didn't have the kind of effect Andrew wanted at this point in the duel.

"It's a bluff," said Bryan, "but I don't blame you for trying. I'll summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (3: 1200/800)." His first female Hero of the duel burst forth onto the field in a spout of fire. "Time to attack."

"No hesitation?" asked Andrew.

"Not this time."

"Okay. You win." Burstinatix formed a fireball in each palm and then hurled them across the field like fastball pitches. Each one exploded against the table right in front of Andrew, dropping his Life Points to zero and ending the duel. Bryan's name flashed across the display screen with the word "WINNER" emblazoned in bold lettering.

Bryan 5100: Andrew 0.

Holograms faded and the table returned to its disengaged appearance like that of an electric ping pong table. Before collecting his cards, Bryan extended a hand across the table. "Good game, sir."

"Yes, congratulations to you. That was a good duel. Surprising victory for an Elemental Hero deck. Not often one of those manages to win an application duel, no offense."

"None taken. I know how hard it can be to handle a deck like this. That's why it's my favorite. I've always had a thing for superheroes and their ability to keep fighting no matter how stacked against them the odds might be."

"Plenty of long odds there," said Andrew. "But again, congrats on pulling out the win."

As Bryan returned the second handshake, he said, "Level with me. What are my chances of getting in?"

"Hey, look. I get no say in how a person is graded. I'm only here to deliver the duel and give the administrators a chance to watch."

"Just give me an assessment as if you _did_ make the decision. To be a test proctor, you must be knowledgeable. I only want some feedback."

Andrew shifted nervously. Bryan had expected a response like that considering he was basically asking face-to-face "Judge me now." People generally disliked confrontation and Andrew was no exception. What leaned in Bryan's favor for this conversation was the fact that Andrew had all the power, the option to brush him off with a generic aphorism or be brutally honest to a guy he might never have to see again.

To Bryan's surprise, Andrew chose the latter. "None of this is official, but you do have some positive points. First, you don't lack for confidence. It's hard to tell from one duel whether it stops there or crosses over into arrogance, but confidence is a quality the mentors here spend a lot of time beating into their students. You made some good decisions, like not paralyzing yourself in fear of my face-down cards. On the other hand, you called my bluff every single time without stopping to think about it, and that can really ruin your game. Especially when you run an Elemental Hero deck. And one based on Polymerization! I don't remember the last time someone was admitted with a deck like that."

"No one runs a Hero deck?"

"Sometimes, but not the same way you do. Masks are more popular. Generally your cards are not fast enough to compete. But there are always exceptions. It just depends on what focus the admins have when they sit down to grade you."

Extending one more handshake, Bryan said, "Thanks, man. I appreciate your candor. I look forward to seeing you around campus. I want to duel your real deck next time, not some watered-down testing deck."

Andrew chuckled. "Confidence or arrogance."

As the testing period wound down, Bryan found the arena seating increasingly empty. Most of the applicants weren't too interested in sticking around longer than it took to complete their own practical duels. Even the girl Bryan chatted up earlier was gone. Too bad he never got her number; with a deck based on Final Countdown, there was no way she would end up at Duel Academy! He plopped down next to Matt, a short guy whose unshaved look was unfortunate because the facial hair grew in patches around his chin, like mutton chops.

"Congratulations on winning your round. I'm impressed."

Bryan chuckled nervously. "Yeah, me, too, a little bit. For a moment there when neither of us had many monsters, I thought I was screwed. Still surprised I pulled out Drowning Mirror Force and Burstinatrix when I did. How lucky was that?"

"Lucky and perfectly even," said Matt.

"Yeah, I thought you'd like that." Matt always enjoyed watching a person's Life Points hit zero evenly without needing to round up negative numbers. On rare occasion, Bryan skipped an attack here and there to make sure the duel ended with an even attack just to give Matt that feeling of satisfaction. "Winning the duel means I'm probably in, right?"

"Not necessarily. They're still going to weigh in your test scores and high school grades in some ridiculous formula no one understands outside of the admissions office. But your duel scores should be pretty good. You never panicked even in situations where you had no cards to play, plus you showed some decent skill with those early fusions, even if they were countered quickly. A longer duel like that is probably better for grading than if you came in and dominated, just because they can see how well you play isn't limited to favorable circumstances."

That wasn't as blunt as Bryan wanted it. "So you think I have a shot?"

"A solid probability, yes."

"Cool." Words of encouragement from Matt tended to make Bryan feel better. Even though Bryan was the one who taught him how to play, Matt had quickly emerged as a more complex thinker in the game. If he believed Bryan did well, then it had to be true.

"If it helps you: Few other duelists did anything noteworthy while you were busy." His gaze drifted silently into the ceiling corner for a moment before it fell to a pair of duels on the arena floor. Matt pointed to the one on the left, a duel between two girls, and said, "This girl is a shoe-in. She hasn't misplayed even once." He pointed to the duel on the right. "On the other hand, this guy can't handle his own cards for shit. He emptied his hand to summon a whole bunch of big monsters at once and didn't even defend himself against traps. One Mirror Force and he was more wide open than Venus de Milo boxing against Carl Weathers."

"Dude, he's not even a real boxer."

"He played one in a movie. Four of them, in fact. I think that would make him plenty skilled to box against an armless Greek statue."

Bryan laughed. "You're not wrong. Anything else I missed?"

"At least five female applicants you would have forfeit the duel to sleep with. Six, depending on how far your standards have fallen since Amber Kohler."

Bryan whipped his index finger into Matt's face. "Is that never talking about it again?"

Matt looked at the finger for a moment and made a face. "Where were you sticking that during the duel?"

With a scoff and a somewhat guilty and self-conscious wince, Bryan removed his finger. "Just be ready for your duel and don't talk about my ex-girlfriend anymore. There aren't many people left here so you've got to be up soon."

"According to the schedule, I'm up as soon as the duel at Table 2 is over."

"What schedule? They randomized everything so we couldn't prepare ahead of time."

Matt held Bryan's eye contact while he pointed to the far wall of the arena. A display screen typically used as a scoreboard-slash-permanent ad roll during major events was, at present, used instead to list the applicants seated at each of the eight tables and the applicants who were on call. Considering how short a duel might be, it was important for applicants to have some estimate for their time on stage to avoid wasting time for the proctors.

"You get an idea what the deck at Table 2 is?"

"Some girl playing a ritual deck. She's pretty good. Only one person I've watched since we got here has beaten her. In ten more minutes, it'll be two people."

"Well, I'd wish you luck, but you hate that."

A scowl crossed Matt's face—not that he had been smiling brightly to begin with. "I built my deck and tested it relentlessly. If I had to rely on luck after all that work, I'd give up the game."

"No, you wouldn't. You hate to lose." Bryan caught the eye of a short-haired blonde girl who was sitting at the top tier of the seats. From what he could see, she had smooth features and a t-shaped face. He flashed her a winning smile, which Matt saw, and she winked back. "The fun is in the pursuit."

Matt grumbled, "I'm surprised you got over your relationship so quickly. Like, sixty seconds. Is that a world record or just a personal best?"

"The way I figure it: Boarding school will be a good time to start over. I get to reinvent myself away from home and find a new girl to help make my high school life worth living. Don't you agree?"

"I've kissed one girl and she immediately told everyone I slobber. How eager do you really think I am to go chasing after every skirt that walks by?"

Bryan grinned. "What if they've got really big bazongas?"

"That makes no difference whatsoever. You know I'm an ass man."

The light at Table 2 began to flash and the arena speaker called for Matthew Luther to find Table 2 for his application duel. "Sorry to skip out on the existential conversation, but that's my cue. Wish my opponent luck, just for fun."

"I hope she kicks you out."

"No, you don't." While mostly true that Bryan didn't want Matt to be beaten, there was a part of his mind that was so nervous he would get rejected that he hoped Matt would also get rejected so they could still both go to high school together back home.

Matt sat down at Table 2 without a word and loaded up his deck into the card slot. He gave the proctor an acknowledging nod while she introduced herself and stretched from sitting all day. Her shirt slid up just enough to reveal some skin, but she was quick to pull the seam back down. The display screen began spinning for a moment until it landed with the name Matthew Luther shown in small font.

"That's a pretty nice effect there," he said, speaking to Laura as she seated herself across from him. She didn't look like a natural blonde.

Laura forced a cordial smile that looked like a challenge to hold. Considering she had only been greeting applicants for an hour, to struggle so greatly meant she was unaccustomed to smiling so long.

"It's intended to make you feel welcome here. As rigorous as the application process gets, it's impressive even to get this far. You should already feel like a winner."

"Mission: accomplished. I feel plenty welcome."

"Good."

A moment of silence passed between them as Matt broke eye contact with his proctor and instead glanced around the stadium, admiring the other application duels occurring concurrently.

Laura leaned forward, curious whether the young applicant knew what was going on. "That display means you get the first turn."

Matt reacted with surprise, but he recovered quickly and changed his expression to one of intense concentration. "Of course it does. I'm just considering what to play first."

Suppressing a smirk, she said, "Yes, sir."

"Don't do that. I'm no sir, and you are not inferior to me, even if you're stuck with a testing deck." After giving her a look of sincerity, he held one of his cards beside his face so Laura could see it.

"I summon Elemental Hero Prisma (4: 1700/1100)." A prism chiseled into the form of a winged man shimmered into existence from the interplay of light on the holographic duel table. Matt took a moment to admire the construction of the table, imagining where all the lenses and mirrors had to be placed to form every conceivable hologram that might be needed for any given duel. It was one thing to see professional-sized equipment, but to scale it down to this size was an incredible feat.

"Is that it?" asked Laura.

Without losing focus on the table, Matt replied, "Not remotely. Prisma has the effect to mimic a monster from my deck as long as I send it to the graveyard." He went through his deck and pulled out the Dark Magician.

Laura began laughing wildly. "Dark Magician? Oh, honey, you might as well go home now."

"Because such a badass monster means my victory is assured?"

"'Not remotely.'" She was definitely mocking Matt by repeating his words back to him in a similar tone. "There is no surer sign of a noob than a Dark Magician deck. Everyone always tries to build their first deck like a Yugi Mutou deck, not realizing he's just a legend."

"What do you mean? Is he not a historical figure?"

She took a moment of hysterical laughter before Laura could answer his question. "All the stories you've heard of Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba are just legends. You might as well build your deck the same way Zeus would or Godzilla."

"Wow," said Matt, letting a grin creep across his face. "You are _terrible_ at metaphors."

"And you are terrible at deck building. You want to give up now?"

"Will that get me accepted into Duel Academy?"

Laura put on a look of disgust. "What? Of course not!"

Calmly, Matt said, "Then no, I don't want to give up. I will, however, put two cards face-down and then end my turn."

Once a moderately attractive face after a long, draining day rapidly turned into the look of someone who couldn't believe she had to put up with this shit. "Fine. I play Sonic Bird (4: 1400/1000). That gives me one ritual spell from my deck." The monster appeared as an eagle wearing goggles and a jet pack. It took flight as a normal bird, but it went supersonic when the thrusters engaged, flashing across the length of the field and returning to its original position with Hymn of Light in its beak. "Now I use Hymn of Light: Sonic Bird on the field and one in my hand are sacrificed to summon Saffira, Queen of Dragons (6: 2500/2400)." Her monster gleamed with stunning, sapphire scales and wings like rhinestone-studded curtain liners.

Matt scoffed. "I'm sorry to have to put the lights out." He flipped over one of his face-down cards. "Book of Moon flips your monster face-down." A blue book with a gold moon emblazoned on the cover opened, covering Laura's side of the field in darkness and hiding her monster in defense mode.

Laura was noticeably annoyed to lose such a great monster already. "Fine. I will also set one card. My turn ends."

"Before you do, I chain Eternal Soul." A great, stone tablet rose from the ground bearing carvings of a wizard. Fading into existence, the wizard came to life, tall and dressed in iconic, purple robes. "For this turn, the effect lets me summon Dark Magician (7: 2500/2100) from the graveyard."

"Congratulations on actually summoning your favorite monster."

"Thank you. Sorry you have to lose yours. I play Thousand Knives." It may not have been a thousand, but when Dark Magician swung his staff, swarms of knives flew through the air and eviscerated Laura's face-down Saffira without making battle necessary.

"What will you do next?" asked Laura. Her eyes drifted to her face-down card. Matt couldn't help suspecting that she was trying to bluff him into thinking it was something as dangerous as Mirror Force when it really wasn't, except that he believed she was most likely a really bad actress and that her card really _was_ a powerful trap.

"I'll use Eternal Soul." The stone tablet hadn't left the field earlier; in fact, like some of the most powerful traps, it would remain permanently until Laura could destroy it. "Instead of summoning another magician, I'll take Dark Magic Attack from my deck." The stone tablet faded in a spell card. Immediately after, Dark Magician swung his staff again, this time hurling a blast of black magic that consumed Laura's face-down card in black flames. "Powerful spell, wouldn't you say? It knocked your Mirror Force right out of here."

"And now I'm wide open," said Laura, accepting her position.

Matt smirked. "I bet that happens to you a lot." Laura gasped in outrage at the vulgar insinuation. "Don't worry about it. I trade Prisma on my field for Dark Magician Girl (6: 2000/1700)." Equally iconic to her male counterpart, Dark Magician Girl wore blue magician's robes that revealed significantly more skin. "These two make a good team, don't you think?" Dark Magician thrust forward his staff as Dark Magician Girl swung her rob, each casting a black and blue spell that interwove into a single, explosive burst of energy as it connected with Laura's Life Points.

Matt 8000: Laura 3500.

"Need to shore up my reserves before I'm done, so I'll use E – Emergency Call to get another Prisma in the backfield." Identical to the holograms seen during Bryan's duel, a three-dimensional E exploded as the reflective Hero sprang from the deck and into Matt's hand.

Extending his hand and bowing as if offering his hand to Laura, he said, "It's your turn."

"Great," she grumbled, clearly unimpressed by his feigned chivalry. Matt figured it was probably the sex joke that irritated her so much.

And her frustration wasn't at all helped by her next draw. Laura's hand looked a little thin as she put one monster face-down in defense mode and called for her turn to end.

"Hang on," said Matt. "Eternal Soul activates again. This time I get Thousand Knives."

Laura leaned back in her seat and took in a heavy sigh of annoyance. No one needed an advanced dueling degree to know exactly what was about to happen. And indeed, Matt was not one to mince cards. He activated Thousand Knives to destroy her face-down monster, and then his two magicians dual-cast their spell once more to obliterate the rest of her Life Points.

Matt 8000: Laura 0.

The few people who were watching his specific duel applauded. Matt was one of few duelists all day who managed victory without losing any Life Points. A long, piercing wolf whistle cut through the cheers. Bryan followed it back to the blonde girl with the round face. She winked at him again, and then he realized he hadn't been the one she was checking out earlier after all.

"Yes, congratulations," said Laura to Matt, and she could not have sounded less sincere. She offered a handshake. "You performed well."

"Women always say that to me." Exasperated, Laura withdrew her hand and crossed her arms over her chest. "I mean dueling!" he insisted, sounding less than convincing. "Damn. You're so touchy. I mean sensitive. I mean you can only take so much. Man, it's difficult to find a description that doesn't sound like a sexual euphemism." He might have come across as less offensive if he didn't sound ready to laugh.

"Get away from me," said Laura with a bonafide growl.

"Fair enough. As parting words: I look forward to dueling your real strength one day soon."

She walked away from the table muttering, "Creep."

Matt turned back to the stands thinking, "She's not wrong."

Bryan was thrilled to see Matt again. "Nicely done, dude! You fuckin' walloped her! Too bad you couldn't have pulled it off in a single turn. I bet that would guarantee your acceptance."

"Only if my test scores are good enough. Let's face it: We don't know the exact grading criteria. We're just speculating and opening ourselves to heightened disappointment."

"Yeah, maybe. That essay was no fun, either. How am I supposed to tell anyone where I'll be in five years when that directly depends on whether I get accepted to dueling school?"

"Fair point. How about we just go raid the deli for now? I think we have two-to-four months before we hear any final decision."

Bryan groaned. "Fingers crossed. Two-to-four more months of regular school can't end soon enough."

* * *

 **Welcome, Reader, to the first chapter of my reimagined story of Duel Academy. Whether you are new to my writing or you read my previous fic before the characters careened out of control, I'm glad you're here and I hope you enjoy the start of Bryan and Matt's new journey.**

 **As I have done before, I will accept OCs to help fill out the ranks of Duel Academy. I love participation from my readers, but past experiences have provided me with the following tips to make sure your character is someone I can use well. Check my profile for details.**


	2. On a Cruise Ship to Academy Island

Chapter 2: On a Cruise Ship to Academy Island

As luck would have it, Bryan and Matt both found acceptance letters from Duel Academy within eighty days. Wouldn't have been much of a story if they weren't accepted, right? Come mid-September, the boys completed the fourteen-hour flight to get from their home near the east coast of the United States to the port in Japan where they departed on a cruise ship bound for Academy Island. Two days after departure, the ship would dock at Academy Island, a private island owned by the founding Kaiba Corporation.

"You wonder why that girl said Yugi Mutou is just a legend?" asked Matt as he stretched out on the small, stateroom bed. "We're on a cruise ship owned by the Kaiba Corporation. If she's right, wouldn't that make Seto Kaiba just a legend, too?"

"I don't care, man. I need to move around." Now that he was done putting away his belongings into the stateroom closets, Bryan was feeling more restless than ever. Being stuck on a plane for so long was bad enough before he learned that cruise ship staterooms were so small. It was smaller than his bedroom back at home. If he paced around the room, he would complete the circuit in seven steps.

Looking at Matt, he asked, "How can you not feel stir crazy yet?"

"Not everyone can sleep on airplanes."

"I can sleep anywhere, so now I'm not tired. Let's go explore the ship."

"Why don't you go explore now, and I'll go explore in the morning when you're finally sleepy? That way, we'll know what's going on at all times."

"We've got an app for that. Literally the only app that works on this ship, too, unless we want to pay extra for wi fi. And the app says there's something planned for every hour of the day except between 4AM and 7AM. Plenty of time for sleep later." With a single effort, he hoisted Matt off the bed and planted him upright on the floor.

Matt shook himself clear and looked down to realize what just happened. "Damn you for being the size of a bull moose."

"Good genes. It's why I played football."

"And now you're trading in the sports mantle for a card game. That ought to be a real winner with the ladies." He stepped out of the room ahead of Bryan, who was struggling to come up with a pithy response. The window passed and so he was forced to let it drop and change the topic.

The ship corridors were narrow but brightly lit and very clean. Cleaner than Bryan's house had ever been, in fact. The colors were vibrant and gave the ship a surreal ambience. As the two walked to the nearest stairwell, Bryan noted several stateroom doors were thoroughly decorated with stickers, banners, and Fatheads depicting a fanatical appreciation for _Yu-Gi-Oh! Gaming_.

"Clearly I don't love this game enough," he muttered.

"I'm sure that will reflect on your grades," said Matt. See, _that_ was pithy.

The cruise liner called _Philyra_ sailed smoothly through the Pacific Ocean creating very little rocking on the deck. The ripples in the water reflected the light of the cruise ship in a greenish glow. Water wasn't normally that clean and clear where Bryan came from. It was also the first time he had ever been on a full-sized ship, and so he was compelled to stop for an "obligatory porthole selfie" the first time they passed by a porthole with an unobstructed view of the ocean. Matt joined him by calling upon his go-to look of silent disdain, which he wore for most selfies. It contrasted well with Bryan's overly-enthusiastic selfie grin.

"Where do we go first from here?" asked Matt, checking the cruise app on his phone. "Looks like there is a dance club on the third deck right next door to a karaoke room, some kind of art gallery-slash-souvenir shop on the fourth deck, a movie theater on the second deck—hey, they're showing _Spider-Man: Homecoming_!"

Bryan shook his head. "That movie was awesome, but the point is to move around, not to sit still for another two hours. Besides, you'll just sleep through the movie. Let's hit up the dance club."

"Because that's exactly my scene." Matt could not have been more sardonic if he wanted to. He hated being anywhere there would be a lot of people, particularly if he were doing something which involved social embarrassment. Dancing and karaoke were at the top of that list, and Bryan knew it. But Matt's disdain was fleeting, dissolved as soon as the two stepped foot into the dimly-lit club room. Three walls were lined with tables and chairs around the hardwood dance floor. Only three people were inside, all sitting at a table while talking and laughing with cups of water in front of them. "Never mind. This is exactly my kind of club scene," said Matt.

"I should have known it'd be abandoned since we're on a nerd boat."

"We're nerds, too, going to school for a card game. You want to dance?" Bryan glared at Matt, unamused by the joke. "Also, it's getting late and other people might be sleeping."

"Sleeping is for suckers."

"And people with less needy best friends," muttered Matt. When Bryan shot him a look, he quickly edited himself with, "What about introducing ourselves to our shipmates?"

"We'll find a room with some girls in it first," said Bryan as he turned around and exited the club room.

"Sound logic," agreed Matt.

The karaoke room was a slightly better haunt. The room was occupied by seven other kids plus an adult deejay. Five of the kids were female, or as Matt put it: "All of the girls at Duel Academy are here." Bryan smacked him on the chest and then ignored him, leading the way to introduce himself to the other students. Six of them were crowded around two copies of the karaoke songbook while the seventh was on the tiny stage singing _How Far I'll Go_ from the _Moana_ movie. Bryan took note of that as he approached the group.

He cleared his throat and everyone turned to look. Then he put on a big, toothy, charming smile and said, "Hi. How ya doin'?" Taking a look around the group, he took a quick analysis. Two of the girls and both guys were Asian with dark hair, one of the girls was white with crazy-long blonde hair, and the other girl plus the one onstage looked like Pacific Islanders. Coming from a small town in the Southeastern U.S., it was his first experience being in the minority. No one wore their standard Duel Academy uniforms yet, favoring comfortable clothes instead.

No one seemed particularly excited by his pickup line, but the seated Pacific girl made a face like she was trying to figure out the joke. Everyone else gave a general "hi" as a response.

"That's it?" he asked. "That was my best Eugene Fitzherbert."

" _Tangled_! Flynn Rider," said the Pacific girl. Bryan tapped his nose to indicate she had nailed it. "I knew that inflection was familiar. You do the face very well, too. Your hair is a good length for it."

"Thanks. Still waiting for my full goatee to grow in, though."

The blonde smirked. "It'll happen once you hit puberty." That earned her a laugh from the others and a high five from one of the guys.

Bryan laughed along. "Good one. I'm Bryan and this is Matt. Do you all mind if we join you?"

"Of course not. Pull up a seat." Bryan swung over a chair from another table and sat pressed up against the chair's back while Matt stood behind him. Going around the table, the Pacific girl introduced herself as Wikolia and her friends as Chika, Akira, Cary, Naoki, and Rikuto. Lei was onstage singing _Moana_.

"You guys must be first-years," said Wikolia. "I'd remember a couple of male Disney fanatics like you."

"You're also really hard to miss," said Rikuto, leaning away from Bryan like he was fighting a supernatural gravity. He obviously meant to say that Bryan was large. "Did you get held back or something?"

Wikolia smacked him on the arm while Chika and Akira hid their faces in shame. Bryan, however, just smiled. "No, nothing like that. I was kind of a fat kid, but then I started playing football in school and got in better shape. I'm still just fifteen and I don't really eat that much."

Matt muttered, "Most moose eat fifty pounds of food a day. He holds himself back to thirty-five."

"Smarty back there is Matt. Don't mind him if he starts spouting off random facts. He's full of useless trivia. That's how he scored Outstanding on the general knowledge test in the entrance exams."

"Impressive," Wikolia said. Just then, Lei's song wrapped up and she jumped off stage. The adult deejay announced that Naoki was next with his rendition of _Shuffle_ by Masami Okui. It wasn't the first J-Pop song Bryan ever heard, but it was the first he ever heard sung live in flawless Japanese.

"Are you all upperclassmen?" asked Bryan.

Rikuto said, "Chika, Naoki, and I are seniors. Akira and Wikolia are juniors. Her little sister Lei and Jim Cary over there are freshies."

Bryan shot a curious look to Cary. "Jim Cary?" he asked.

"She make a lot of faces," said Chika with a soft giggle. "It's funny."

Cary rolled her eyes and produced an expressive look that implied, "That's the nickname I earned myself already. It only took five minutes for it to get old, but I'll probably be stuck with it all year." It was as if she could speak without opening her mouth.

Matt rapped Bryan's shoulder. "Since you found a babysitter, I'm going to head back and get some shuteye."

"You sure you don't want to hang out for a bit?"

"I'm sure." Matt offered a nod to the table and started for the door.

Defending Matt's behavior to the others, Bryan said, "Don't mind him. He's a hardcore introvert. Not too shy, but it takes a lot of effort for him to meet new people. Not to mention he didn't sleep at all on the plane ride to the port, so he's pretty tired."

Cary put her drink down on the table. "Now that you mention it, I think I'll call it a night, too."

"Are you sure, Cary?" asked Lei. She was up next in karaoke.

"I'm too tired to sing it anyway. Maybe Bryan can take my turn for me."

Bryan was never one to back down from a challenge. "What's the song?"

Lei smiled at him expectantly. " _Part of Your World_."

"Hmm. _The Little Mermaid_. I'm sensing a theme among you folks. I'll handle it for you, Cary. You get some sleep."

Cary thanked him with a brief glance. Wikolia asked if she would be alright walking back to her room alone, to which Cary made a face that said, "Don't be ridiculous. We're on a cruise ship surrounded by card-playing nerds. I'm as safe here as anywhere." With that and a wave, she dismissed herself from the party.

"I hope I didn't run her off," said Bryan.

Wikolia shook her head. "Don't mind her. She's been a little testy all evening. Perfectly pleasant to talk to, but she's obviously tired. A good night's sleep is probably what she needs."

"Maybe she just need to get laid," said Rikuto. Chika and Akira both blushed and laughed. Chika playfully pushed him as punishment for his lewd joke.

"I like Cary. She's rough around the edges but sweet in the middle," said Lei.

Bryan asked, "Do you know each other outside of school?"

Lei pointed two fingers to Chika and Rikuto and then from Akira to Naoki onstage. "They are dating, and Wikolia is my sister. Otherwise, we just met up tonight on the boat as karaoke fans."

"We've had classes together, and the four of us all live in the girls' dorm. Rikuto and Naoki are blue, too," said Wikolia.

"Blue?"

"She means Obelisk Blue," said Rikuto. His expression turned cocky. "That means we're the best."

Akira added, "Rikuto leads Team OTK. They won school cup last year."

"What school cup?"

"The Academia Circuit is a league-style competition between the dueling teams at Duel Academy," said Wikolia. "Each of the dorms has a team, plus students can form a specialized team. Team OTK focuses on strategies that end the duel in one turn."

"One-turn-kill," said Rikuto slowly in case Bryan didn't figure out what OTK stood for. "You think you might join?"

Bryan shook his head. "Not sure my deck would be able to pull off a consistent OTK, although I might get lucky now and then. But my buddy Matt might be a good choice. His Dark Magician deck regularly wipes out the whole field before he just whales on your Life Points."

"A Dark Magician deck? I think I heard about that from Andy," said Wikolia. "It's kinda common for newbies to build a Dark Magician deck because they think it's cool to be like Yugi Mutou, but it's rare to see one actually get accepted into Duel Academy."

"If he's that good, maybe I'll check him out," said Rikuto. "Are you two in Ra?" Bryan recognized that as the name of the dormitory for mid-level students. The dorms were named for the three Egyptian God Monsters of legend, with Obelisk reigning as the highest rank a student could achieve. "Obviously your friend can't be in Obelisk. Only first-years with prep school backgrounds get there, and prep school would teach him not to rely on Dark Magician."

"Actually, we're both in Slifer," said Bryan. Though his voice was bold and he tried not to be ashamed of achieving the lowest rank, his body language betrayed his sheepish reaction.

"Don't worry about it," said Wikolia. "Most guys start out in Slifer. Even Andy did, and he's one of the top ten in the school now." Bryan assumed from the repeated mention of Andy that he must be her boyfriend. "Be proud that you scored well enough on your exams to get accepted at all. You have no idea how high the standards are for this school, so that alone is a huge achievement."

Her words encouraged Bryan to relax some. "Thanks."

"Now get up there and show us your best rendition of _Part of Your World_!"

At the conclusion of Bryan's song, the deejay called it quits on karaoke night and reminded everyone they could show up again tomorrow night for another round. After Wikolia announced she was ready to call it a night, everyone else at the table agreed with her assessment, leaving Bryan with the option of heading to bed in the tiny stateroom or wandering the ship alone at one o'clock in the morning. Even the two guys who had closed down the club room were gone. Without another viable option, Bryan made his way back up to the sixth deck where his room was located.

Instead of stopping in, he went to the seventh deck—the highest deck on the ship reachable by the stairwell and the one where the 24-hour fountain drinks were available. He helped himself to a soda and looked around. There was an outdoor pool in the middle of the deck, but it was closed off for the night. Rows of chairs lined the end and the sides of the pool, all pointing toward a giant screen towering on the backside of the bridge. During the day, the screen played _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ -themed movies people could watch while they lounged. It sounded like fun, but watching movies in a noisy place wasn't Bryan's first choice. He walked around past the screen and found the Quiet Zone in the back. The pool here was shallow, maybe up to his ankles, almost impossible to drown in. More seats offered the chance to lounge in the shade or in the sun—during daytime, anyway.

Bryan almost missed it in the darkness, but standing by the railing at the stern was someone who appeared to be almost sulking. He had hoped to find another girl to flirt with, but no such luck as Duel Academy was densely male-populated. The mopey-looking guy was tall and lanky, only an inch or so shorter than Bryan and about fifty pounds lighter. He had blond hair that seemed to shine in the moonlight more than Bryan's did. The guy was a natural blond. His features appeared to be American, but Bryan couldn't be certain in the dark. The thought occurred to leave him alone, but he happened to glance back and see Bryan there, making it awkward if he tried to leave.

"What's going on?" Bryan asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Not much. Just felt like catching the ocean breeze before bed. I ended up with an interior stateroom."

"Same here. I didn't know there were exterior rooms on this ship."

"Yeah, most of the rooms have verandahs. They're more expensive, though, and they jack up the cost of tuition just to give you an ocean view on the way to school. Total rip-off when you can come up here for no additional charge."

Bryan nodded. "Not a bad option."

"Sorry if I creeped you out. I'm Jack Hansbury, first-year Slifer Red."

"I'm Bryan Knight, also first-year Slifer."

"Nice to meet you, Bryan Knight. You just out for an evening stroll?"

"I'm not really sleepy. I slept on the plane the whole way out here and now I just don't feel like I need to sleep. Plus, I was really hoping to meet some of the girls around here."

Jack smiled. "I know what you mean. The guy-to-girl ratio at this school is ridiculous. It's like five-to-one! That's why there's only one girl's dorm versus three guy's dorms. They get their own private everything whereas we have to earn better accommodations by getting a higher rank next time and earning Ra or Obelisk."

"Yeah, that's pretty messed up. But since we're both Slifers, do you mind if I ask what your scores were on your entrance exams?"

Jack hesitated. "Keep it between us?" Bryan nodded his assent. "For the duel knowledge exam I got Good, for the dueling practical assessment I got Satisfactory, and I also got Good on the general knowledge test. It sucks because I really thought I aced everything."

"You did better than I did. I had the same scores except my duel knowledge was only Satisfactory. My best friend slaughtered his opponent in the practical in only two turns and she never even touched his Life Points and he only scored a Good. I swear that assessment is rigged against all newcomers."

With a shrug, Jack said, "You're not wrong, about the practical being rigged, I think. Long-standing tradition is that anyone can get lucky but only the experienced duelists can prove their skill through consistency. That's why only prep school duelists have any shot of getting into Obelisk as freshmen. Their experiences so far outnumber ours."

"Give me a few weeks and I'll prove myself," said Bryan.

"Good for you. You sound like a confident guy. We'll both study hard, learn a few things, and show Duel Academy not to underestimate newbies."

"Alrighty then. Sounds like a plan."

Jack offered Bryan a fist bump. "If you're that wide awake, you feel up for a duel? I mean, the hologram equipment is disabled on this cruise to discourage us from bullying each other before school starts, but we can play the old-fashioned way on a tabletop by the bar."

Bryan remembered the bar. He was disappointed but not surprised to find out they only served non-alcoholic beverages.

"I'd have to go grab my deck but I'm up for that."

Jack stumbled in surprise. "You don't have your deck on you?"

"No. Is that weird?"

"Everyone at Duel Academy has a deck on them at all times." He pivoted enough to reveal the deck box clipped to his shorts waistband. "It's practically a sin not be armed, plus it gives anyone else the opportunity to sneak into your room and steal your deck or mess with it somehow."

Suddenly Bryan felt both guilty and nervous as his heart rate picked up. "I never thought of that. You okay to wait while I run and get it? My room is only one floor down." Hopefully not one _deck_ down, he punned to himself, although he figured his deck had to be safe since Matt was in the room.

Jack shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so." He pointed to a table barely in the light of the theater pool. "I'll meet you here in ten minutes? That'll give me time to hit the bathroom."

"Cool. See you in a bit."

Bryan rushed off to the nearest stairwell and nearly took a tumble because the stairs were so short and close together. Stupid ship construction and their attempts to save space… But he made it to his stateroom in one piece and without bruising. When he opened the door, he used his phone to help light the way to avoid waking Matt. To his surprise, the bed was unused.

"Matt?" He flipped on the light and looked around. No sign of Matt anywhere. Did he get sidetracked by something? Or maybe he got lost and couldn't remember which room was theirs. Hopefully he wasn't jumped and kidnapped while his deck was stolen. Bryan was pretty sure that last option was the paranoia talking. "He'll be fine. He's nearly a grown man," he decided.

Bryan's deck was exactly where he left it in his suitcase, which was a welcome relief to the conspiratorial concern Jack instilled in him. He began to wonder how many times someone actually stole a deck in Duel Academy's history. With his cards securely in hand, he left the room and made sure the door locked behind him. But by the time he got back to the deck, Jack Hansbury was nowhere to be found. Bryan found himself looking out onto an empty deck.

"I hope he didn't pass out in the pool."

"What was that?"

Bryan turned to see a woman in her late twenties wearing the full uniform of a _Philyra_ cruise ship employee. "Ashley, right? From the karaoke room."

She peered through the moonlight to get a better look at Bryan. She had a pretty face, but the uniform prevented him from making other superficial judgments about her body. She walked gracefully, like a prim and proper lady, and she spoke with a slight British accent when she said, "That's right. I remember you but I don't know your name, unless it's really Cary."

He chuckled. "No, I just took her spot in the karaoke lineup. I'm Bryan Knight, brand new student at Duel Academy."

"I knew you were a freshman. Yours is an unfamiliar face, Bryan Knight."

"You've been to Duel Academy?"

"No, but I've worked on this ship for a few years. I've seen faces come and go every year so I've gotten pretty good about picking out the first-year students."

He nodded. "Well done. Your accent is pretty. It's not quite British."

"Good ear. I'm Australian."

"Alrighty then. That's why cruises in the Pacific are where you work."

"You've got it. Bryan, I don't mean to pry, but shouldn't you be in bed by now?"

He paused, unsure what kind of reaction was coming his way. As the adult in this situation and feasibly hired by Kaiba Corp, she could report him for being outside curfew or something—although he didn't remember hearing about a curfew. Was there a way to avoid trouble, or should he just be honest?

"Honestly," he started, "I'm just not tired yet. I came from the east coast of the U.S. and I slept on the entire plane ride over. Then we landed at the airport and took the bus here not even an hour later."

"That explains it," she said, a soft smile on her face. "You're young so I feel like I'm supposed to send you to bed, but there isn't officially a curfew on this cruise. One reason is like you said: People come from all over and we can't standardize their biological clocks instantaneously. This cruise is kind of your chance to do that yourself before you get to the island. Another reason is that you won't get a lot of vacation time while school is in session, so these two days are really meant to be relaxing for you."

"Good. I mean, I don't want to be a problem, but who can sleep when you're not tired? I'd just end up staring at the ceiling for hours and anxiously thinking about things in the past that could have gone differently." A mental image of his ex-girlfriend flashed through his mind. He quickly bit it back to avoid tearing up in front of the cruise ship lady.

Ashley nodded knowingly. "I understand what you mean. My shift is to cover nighttime events, so I tend to be a bit of a night owl, myself. So are you out here just to enjoy the night air?"

"Actually, I was going to duel with another guy. I had to run back to my room to grab my deck and apparently he disappeared in that amount of time. Maybe his impression of a night owl isn't as realistic as mine."

"That's too bad. But you know, you're really not supposed to duel the other students on this ship, anyway. The school administrators really want to emphasize the relaxation for this trip and not let everyone stress out about dueling all day long and ranking themselves when that's the whole point of attending Duel Academy in the first place."

With my head hung low, I balked. "I mean, we weren't bullying each other or anything. It was just going to be a friendly way to relax and get to know each other while we kill time. Maybe dueling would even tire me out enough to hit the sack afterward."

"I see your point. Still, the administrators press us to dissuade student dueling as much as we can without being outright rude about it. But you know what rules they lack? Nothing says that you and I can't duel it out."

"Really?"

"Sure. I know a few things about dueling. Anyone would learn a little bit being on a ship like this. But how about we go inside where it's a bit brighter and we can actually see our cards and we're less likely to lose them to the sea breeze?"

A few R-rated thoughts rolled through Bryan's mind until Ashley suggested going down to the fourth deck where they could sit in one of the alcove couches. They were plush, comfortable, and wide as a twin bed. Even with no table to support the cards, there was plenty of room for Ashley and Bryan to face one another on the couch and lay their cards in the middle.

"Okay, let's do this," said Ashley. Her smile grew in direct proportion to her excitement. For someone who didn't attend Duel Academy, she sure seemed happy to play. "Don't worry about holding back against me. I'm always excited to see how the Duel Academy students play so just do your thing. No ban lists, eight thousand points each, and I'm going first because I'm the one not on track to become a professional some day." She smirked at that last comment and shuffled Bryan's cards, offering her cards over for him to return the favor. "Just too bad we can't do this with holograms."

"A duel is plenty exciting without holograms," said Bryan, hoping that would cheer her up. Her tone made it sound as if she had few opportunities for high-level duels. They each took back their decks and established their makeshift duel fields in the couch cushion.

"Agreed. To start things off, I'll place three cards face-down and Botanical Lion (4: 1600/2000) face-up. It'll gain 300 points for each plant monster on my field, including itself, meaning it has 1900 attack points. That's it for my first turn."

Bryan contemplated his opening hand for a moment before deciding on a play. He wasn't sure what to expect from Ashley. She might only be a cruise ship worker, but if she had been on this cruise for multiple years, then she might also have some real dueling chops. It felt wise to give her a turn to prove her strategy before he risked his big monsters against three face-down cards.

"I'll also place something face-down and set one monster."

His opponent flipped over one of her face-down cards. "Before your turn ends, I play Swamp Mirrorer (4: 1800/1000). It becomes a monster for me, and I choose it to be a dark-attribute, plant-type monster."

"Because that way your Lion gets another 300 points, and it's not even your turn yet," said Bryan.

Ashley smiled. "Exactly. For my turn… I'll play Predaplant Moray Nepenthes (4: 1600/1000). And since this one has an effect that activates by destroying monsters, it'll be the one to attack your monster."

Bryan flipped over Burstinatrix with 800 defense points and sent her to the graveyard, positioned right in front of his deck. "You win that matchup."

"Great. Then your card actually comes over to my side of the field as a spell card equipped to Nepenthes." She slid his card out of his makeshift graveyard and placed it behind her monster's card. "Now I'll attack directly with Botanical Lion (+2500) and with Swamp Mirrorer (1800)."

Bryan 3700: Ashley 8000.

"For my second main phase, I'll destroy the card that's equipped to Nepenthes and gain Life Points equal to its attack points." She slid Burstinatrix back to Bryan and smiled. "That's 1200 more points for me. Now you can go."

Bryan 3700: Ashley 9200.

Ashley had already proven to be a faster attacker than Bryan had predicted. He always tried to be confident in his skills, but he took such a big hit so soon that he couldn't help doubting whether he would win this. What might happen if he lost a duel to the lady who ran karaoke on the ship? Was that grounds to kick him out of Duel Academy even before the school year started? What if they asked her to take his spot in the school registry?

He took a deep breath as he looked over his hand. He lacked a good balance at the moment, but he was just going to have to make sure he didn't lose and risk himself.

"I use Raigeki to clear all your monsters off the field."

As Ashley swept her monsters aside, she admitted, "I'm not sure that's a card you'll be able to use once you get to school."

He remembered her mention of Academy ban lists. He was aware that sometimes cards were forbidden from play, but he hadn't seen any list yet from Duel Academy. When it came time to remove cards from his deck, he would have to put some serious thought into how to replace them.

Bryan shook his head, hoping to bring his focus back to the game in front of him. "I play Reinforcement of the Army to bring Elemental Hero Wildheart (4: 1500/1600) to my hand. And then I summon him to the field and attack you directly."

"I play Paleozoic Olenoides, which lets me destroy your face-down card."

She dropped her card in the graveyard and Bryan removed his trap, but Wildheart's attack was undeterred.

Bryan 3700: Ashley 7700.

"I'll put one more face-down and then you can go."

Ashley drew and took no time at all to consider her move. "I'll use Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda (4: 1600/1800)."

Bryan felt like he was in a tight spot considering her monster was strong enough to destroy Wildheart, but she was down to one face-down card left and only a single card in her hand. He decided that was worth the risk.

"I chain Solemn Warning. For 2000 of my Life Points, your monster is destroyed immediately."

Bryan 1700: Ashley 7700.

Ashley clicked her tongue as she moved her card to the graveyard pile. "Well that's a bit of a downer. I guess it's your turn again."

With his new card, things almost looked in Bryan's favor. "I summon Elemental Hero Prisma (4: 1700/1100)."

"I chain with Fiendish Chain," she said, grinning at the repeated word. "Your monster can't attack or use its effect. But I'll also chain my Paleozoic Olenoides (2: 1200/0). If played as part of a chain, I can summon it to my field as a monster."

"Not bad," said Bryan, though he was really thinking _Goddammit_. "I'll use Prisma's effect to show you Plasma Vice in my fusion deck and then send Sparkman from my deck to the grave to give Prisma his name and power."

Ashley made a face. "Excuse me, but Fiendish Chain prevents your monster's effect from activating."

Bryan looked at the field and pretended he hadn't noticed. "Oh, you're right. Then Prisma doesn't change, but sending Sparkman to the graveyard was the cost and not the effect, so that part can't be negated. But now he's where I need him to be because I use Miracle Fusion to combine Sparkman and Burstinatrix into Elemental Hero The Shining (8: 2600/2100). The best part is that Miracle Fusion banished my two fusion material monsters, and The Shining (+3200) gains 300 points for each banished Hero card. So Wildheart (1500) can crush your defensive trap bug (0), and Prisma is frozen, but The Shining (3200) can hit you directly."

Bryan 1700: Ashley 4500.

For the first time since the duel started, Bryan relaxed. The duel was far more balanced by now. For good measure, he placed his last card face-down.

Ashley pursed her lips. "I'll set a monster card."

That's what Bryan was hoping for. He could take the lead as soon as he cleared only one monster.

"Wildheart attacks your monster."

Ashley guffawed. "Another Winda (4: 1600/1800). Her defense points are higher than your attack points, so now you lose even more Life Points."

Bryan 1400: Ashley 4500.

Not only that, but Bryan lost the chance for another direct attack. "Fine. The Shining destroys her this time."

"Then prepare yourself for Ritual Beast Ulti-Gaiapelio (10: 3200/2100)." Bryan could tell from the giddy look on her face that this monster was among Ashley's ace cards. He had something on the field to match it, but that would require forfeiting his strongest monster, and he would still struggle to take out the rest of her Life Points. Ashley was not the slouch he had considered her to be at first—a pretty face _and_ the mind of a duelist.

If Bryan didn't end the duel quickly, then he might lose it after all. He had one card left to play, but what could he do with it? He tapped his fusion deck and thought through the cards he carried with him. What could he achieve by combining Wildheart and Prisma? Wildheart could only fuse into Wild Wingman, Wildedge, Necroid Shaman, and Gaia because of his EARTH attribute…

Finally a grin crossed his face. "I play Flash Fusion. Wildheart and Prisma combine to form Elemental Hero Gaia (6: 2200/2600). When I summon this card, your monster loses half its attack points and gives them to Gaia (+3800). Now Gaia can destroy Ulti-Gaiapelio (-1600), and then The Shining (3200) can end the duel."

Bryan 1400: Ashley 0.

Ashley sighed, holding her smile but also looking at the cards with an expression of disappointment. "That was a good duel, Bryan Knight. For just a moment there I thought I might actually win, but it figures that anyone accepted into Duel Academy would be able to pull out a victory like that." She smiled a genuine smile, able to be simultaneously disappointed and happy. "Thank you for dueling with me. Now maybe you should consider heading to bed."

Although part of him wanted to ask her to join him, Ashley had been nothing but professional in her demeanor, betraying not a single signal that she would welcome an advance from an underage guy. Of course, he was only underage in the U.S. Japan's age of consent was lower, he had heard one time, like thirteen or so. What was it in Australia? Then again, there was probably a whole different rule about cruise employees not messing around with the guests, and she seemed too professional to break that rule.

Beyond that, another part of him stayed his tongue by focusing on his ex-girlfriend and how nasty their breakup was. As comforting as it might be momentarily to fuck a hot, older woman, he couldn't imagine it being all that helpful in getting over his heartbreak. He merely shook her hand in a friendly yet professional manner and made his way back to his own stateroom.

When he opened the door this time, Matt was sprawled out over the bed. He stirred uncomfortably when Bryan flicked the lights on. "Dude, people are trying to sleep."

"People weren't here twenty minutes ago," retorted Bryan. "Where the hell were you?"

Matt was silent for a moment while he woke up enough to sit up. He had passed out so quickly he hadn't even changed clothes. "I didn't make it all the way back at first. I fell asleep on the third deck in one of those plush alcove couches."

"You're kidding me. I just dueled one of the cruise ladies on one of those couches. Except on Deck 4."

"Oh, yeah? Did you win?"

Bryan scoffed. "Please. Of course I did."

"Did you score?"

"Eight thousand Life Points."

Matt groaned. "Under the shirt, at least?"

"Sorry, dude, but we were both professionals about it."

"Lame. You're never going to get over Amber if you don't get out there. Make sex part of your duel ante. A one-time fling now and then can only help."

"Am I really getting sex advice from a virgin?"

"Who knows more about the healing power of sex than someone who's not having any?"

Bryan laughed. "Yeah, fair point."

Matt rolled over and yawned loudly with his eyes closed while Bryan changed into his pajamas. "You find out anything useful about our future opponents?" he asked mid-yawn.

"Only that the practical portion is rigged," he complained.

"I kicked that girl's ass in two turns and I only got a Good score," said Matt. "Not going to hear me argue with you."

"Yeah. What else are they looking for in these things? And how did you score higher than me on general knowledge?"

"I know more than you do. Just a side effect of being particularly awesome."

"And practically living in the library." He noticed the sharp look of annoyance Matt sent his way and promptly added, "Not that I blame you. I'm just saying that I should have gotten higher scores."

Matt put on a smirk. "Think about how high the acceptance standards are. On an island out in the middle of the ocean, they want to know the students have a basic ability to care for themselves and sort their own priorities. Doesn't matter how well you duel if you're a complete dumbass and kill yourself wandering the woods at night."

Bryan stopped to think about it, stroking the peach fuzz beard he cultivated on his chin. "You might be right. I'm smarter than the average teenage bear, but put me up against the people smart enough to attend Duel Academy and I look more average. Besides, I'm thinking that anyone can get lucky once in a duel, but only the experienced duelists can prove their skill through consistency. That's why only prep school duelists have any shot of getting into Obelisk as freshmen. Their experiences outnumber ours."

When his comment was met with silence, Bryan looked back to see Matt squinting at him. "Trying to figure out if you had a real moment of reflection or if you're claiming credit for someone else's critique."

A quick jab to the shoulder illustrated Bryan's appreciation for the sarcasm in that moment. "I'm smart, too, jackass. And at least I look good in red. Slifer Red is the dorm where they put the lowest-ranked students, right?"

"It is. They placed me there, too, so you still have to wonder how high the expectations are. On a brighter note, you and I essentially start with the same rank. Getting accepted was the hard part; now we get to earn our position once we manhandle a few of the good students."

"You think we can actually take any of them?"

Matt's smirk turned into a smile of total confidence. "Of course we can. We won't rest until we're running that place." He yawned again and rolled back over, this time pulling a pillow over his face to block out the lights. "Starting tomorrow."

* * *

 **Welcome back and thanks for reading through Chapter 2 of this obviously-not-sprinting-through-the-plot remake of my _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ fic. I had considered keeping the entirety of this story short to make up for the fact I spent years writing several story arcs before, but I've decided to tell the story at the proper pace and focus on aspects that were missed last time to avoid too much repetition. Notice the profanity here? That's about the average you can expect, in case the rating worries you at all. Basic high school kid vulgarity...**

 **Thank you to my readers who have already contributed OCs to attend Duel Academy. People will continue being introduced throughout the story, so never fear if you don't see your character right away. I still have room for plenty more if anyone else wishes to participate. Check my profile for the basic form or request the in-depth one if you want to share a character deeply thought-out.**

 _ **I'm doing what I can as far as keeping duels interesting and high-level, but I will always welcome help on this topic. If you have any desire to help me plan out duels either by discussing deck strategies or offering to simulate the duel for me from a couple of deck lists, you can quickly become my best friend in this realm. Do not hesitate to reach out if you would like to help. I can't pay you, but you will definitely earn a writing credit.**_


	3. Checking Out the Slifer Dorm

Chapter 3: Checking Out the Slifer Dorm

Even before the cruise ship docked, Bryan and Matt could tell Duel Academy was huge. A private school built on a private island already raised expectations pretty high, but Duel Academy's splendor still shattered their imaginations. They first spotted the enormous, granite lighthouse positioned at the end of the harbor, acting as a beacon for miles to ensure no stray ship invaded Academy Island and any intentional ship could not miss it. As the island grew nearer, the boys saw it was covered with trees and greenery, plus there were white beaches visible toward the eastern edge and purple mountains springing on the far side.

Academy Island was bigger than Bryan had expected. He figured the island would be just big enough to hold the classroom building, the dormitories, and the harbor. Matt had tried to explain the island was more than thirty miles in circumference along the coast and that the school building known as Duel Academy occupied almost nineteen thousand square meters, but then he had to translate that to more than 200,000 square-feet before Bryan could understand. That didn't count the gym facilities, which were disconnected from Duel Academy owing to the variety of sports fields that went underutilized by the student body every year.

And despite the numbers, Bryan still could not visualize the sheer size of the island. Nor the excitement. There was a goddamned volcano on the island! Sure, he saw the picture of it in the school brochure, but it was the first time Bryan had ever been so close to a real volcano. He asked Matt how it got there and then regretted doing so as Matt went into excruciating detail explaining how magma from the Earth's upper mantle pushed its way to the surface and continued to expand as more and more lava flowed. Academy Island's volcano—named Mt. Takahashi, for Bryan's reference—was officially dormant because it had not erupted for two hundred years, but it could not be considered _extinct_ until it went ten thousand years without an eruption.

"What would we do if it erupted?" asked Bryan, pushing Matt toward the only piece of information that was truly important regarding the volcano.

Matt shrugged.

"How can Mr. Know-It-All not know how to protect himself from a volcano?"

"I suggest listening to the safety lecture when we get to the convocation center. It might be more informative than for most schools."

The ship moored in the elegantly-named Duelists' Landing on the westernmost reaches, which was a smaller island connected to the main island by a covered bridge. According to Matt's incessant jabbering, the smaller island was technically named Duelists' Landing while the facility was named only Harbor. No one cared enough to distinguish the two, including Bryan.

The facility housed riggings and equipment needed to clean and maintain the ship's exterior and little else. Straight away while exiting the ship was a security checkpoint where everyone was required to throw their luggage through another X-ray machine and present their student IDs. It was an additional layer of protection against stowaways, plus anyone who managed to smuggle some form of contraband past the onboarding checkpoint was less likely to do so successfully a second time. After Bryan touched the badge reader with his ID card, which had an electronic chip inside to keep track of his entire school identity including dorm access and meals, he was distressed to watch his bags disappear after going through the scanner.

"Don't worry," said the porter. "Your luggage will be taken to your dormitory for you just like when you got on the ship and your stuff was put outside your stateroom. Just keep moving and head toward the main building."

Bryan looked to Matt as he walked through security. "Such service here."

"If the rumors about the Slifer dorm are accurate, this might be the last of it for us."

"You're such an optimist," said Bryan sarcastically.

Matt shrugged in reply. The truth was he didn't care how shitty the service was for students on the island. Whether their dorm had wait staff and their own janitors or if the students were responsible for cleaning their own toilets and killing their own food, he was just happy to be on an island in the middle of the ocean. Or in his own words: "Not really the middle. More like the northwestern of the ocean."

It was not difficult to find the convocation center. Bryan just followed the sea of red, yellow, and blue heading across the bridge and down a paved path through the woods. On the ship Bryan had only ever seen one or two people wearing Duel Academy uniforms, but now it seemed everyone was wearing it in a color to match his or her dorm. Most boys wore blazers and long pants, and Bryan found himself jealous that the Obelisk boys got to wear long-tailed jackets instead to show off their regal rank. The girls wore sleeveless vest-like tops and miniskirts with blue boots. Bryan couldn't hate the outfit, although he wondered if there was an alternate female uniform for the winter.

After crossing the bridge, Matt pointed out to Bryan the building at the north end of the footpath. Obscured slightly by the trees surrounding the path, the building's red roof stood out above. It was designed a bit like a motel. Matt was certain that was the Slifer Dorm because it was the farthest from the Duel Academy main building. Following the path to the south along with the other students, they caught sight of a yellow building with a green, gabled roof and the overall feeling of a clubhouse.

"Clearly that's the Obelisk dorm," joked Bryan. Matt was unamused.

They never spotted the Obelisk dorm on their walk. Shortly past the Ra Yellow building, the path branched and everyone banked northeast toward the towering Duel Academy building. The coated walkway was so clean it was practically reflective, like the surface of a stream of still water. Posts along the trimmed lawn offered places to sit outdoors without venturing too far from one's next class. Straddling the entrance was a series of four angled pillars ending in slotted turrets against the building's front wall. To Bryan's eye, they looked like fingers on a hand pressing Duel Academy into its position up against the mountainside.

Each of the four corners of the building was marked by at least one towering obelisk, and the pun was not lost on Matt. What he could not know, however, was why the southwest corner of the building had two such obelisks, and further still why a sixth obelisk had fallen over from the forest and leaned against the superfluous obelisk.

"I can't believe there's finally something about this place you don't know," said Bryan.

"I'm still not sure how we got accepted," quipped Matt. "Does that count, too?"

Bryan shrugged, signaling his agreement.

Stepping through the entrance door was the same as stepping into a shopping mall. The most prominent feature was the gigantic _Yu-Gi-Oh! Gaming_ logo emblazoned on the floor around which were the type of benches and tables you'd see at the mall for weary shoppers to take a rest, or to wait comfortably while a girlfriend agonizes over which shoes best match her Homecoming dress.

 _Damn_ , Bryan needed to quit thinking about his ex!

Everyone ignored the grand staircases located on either side of the hall and the two located in front of the entrance. Instead, everyone filed through a single door in between the twin stairs, and once they followed, Bryan and Matt found themselves in a floor-level arena. Stadium seating circled the room overlooking a stage on the floor bearing an oak podium and a row of brightly-colored people in Duel Academy uniforms. At first glance Bryan thought they were a little old to be students, but then he realized that's because they were the professors ready to give the opening ceremony and address.

The oldest man of the group stood and made his way to the podium. He was gray on all the hair he had remaining, including the massive mustache under his nose, but he looked surprisingly average around the midsection. Bryan wondered if being on this remote island without access to a car contributed to the professors' ability to keep in reasonable shape. The old man wore blue jeans and a long Duel Academy coat in green, which Matt specified to be _Castleton green_ , a color Bryan was ninety percent sure was made up on the spot.

"Good morning, students," he announced in a soft voice. If not for the microphone, it would be difficult to hear him speak even from the first few rows of seats. "For those of you returning as upper classmen, welcome back to your second home. To everyone joining us for the first time, we could not be prouder to have you here. I am Dr. Corbin West, chancellor here and your highest authority on all things Duel Academy. The student body here can be likened to a deck of cards: Each of you brings different abilities, strengths, and effects to those around you, but only when you pay attention and learn from one another will you find your proper synergy. You are the best and brightest young duelists in the world. I know I say this every year, but I look forward to having the best school year yet. Your participation in pushing the limits of your education and our expertise will forge the path to the future of _Yu-Gi-Oh! Gaming_. Be confident, study hard, and duel with pride. I know you will make all of us proud.

"Please bear with me as we discuss a few of the rules you must all abide during your time here. Rule No. 1 is the most obvious: No drugs or alcohol will be tolerated on campus. No matter the country or culture from whence you hail, you are all underage at this school and will be punished accordingly if you are caught with alcohol on campus. Likewise, we expect you to represent Duel Academy to the best imaginable behavior when you travel off campus." That was a nice, open-ended invitation to abstain from drugs outside of school, too, with an implication that the students could be punished for any intoxication-related events that made their way back to the faculty.

"Rule No. 2 is also simple: no co-educational sleepovers. Your dorm room is for you and your roommates only. Male students are forbidden from visiting inside the female dormitory. Anyone found in the wrong dormitory after curfew will be subject to disciplinary action. Which ties into Rule No. 3: Curfew is 20:00 and means you must be inside your dormitory unless you have explicit, written permission from a professor to be in a practice hall, a lab room, or the library." The room filled with the rumblings of students who felt that 8 P.M. was ridiculously early as a boarding school curfew. Dr. West seemed to ignore it and move on.

"Now I turn you over to my Vice-Chancellor Kevin Lankford." The vice-chancellor was a lanky man with short hair, glasses, and a slight smirk on his face. He wore a blue Duel Academy coat just like the Obelisk students, except his was impeccably pressed and cleaned. His uniform looked almost plastic, like the kind they might use for a photo shoot to present the best possible image.

"Hello, students and thank you, Dr. West. I am Dr. Lankford, your professor for game theory and competitive dueling, and the faculty advisor for the Obelisk Blue boy's dormitory. Allow me to remind you of the rules you really want to hear.

"If you wish to schedule an official duel with any particular student, simply fill out a Duel Request form. You can find these at any arena by the ticket booth or with any faculty member, or you can complete it virtually by logging in at the Duel Academy student portal. Either way, a request form will be sent to your requested opponent. If he or she accepts, the duel will be placed on the calendar for the nearest Area Duel time slot. As with all official duels, anyone is allowed to watch.

"Maps of the campus you can view on the website or on your Duel Academy app indicate the locations of all electronic duel tables on the island. The use of electronic equipment is necessary to log the majority of duels. You are welcome to use your own Duel Disks if you brought them, but you must register them in order for your duel information to synchronize with the campus database. Any electronic duel will go on your official record. You are welcome to duel on tabletop for deck testing and for practice as often as you like, but they will not reflect on your record.

"What's the advantage to going on record, you ask? At the end of each semester, prizes will be awarded based on a variety of performance metrics."

Several hands shot into the air, but a few less patient voices shouted out the questions everyone had: "What are the prizes?" "What metrics do we need to go for?" Best overall win percentage seemed like the most certain award, but maybe there was some form of balance based on total duel count so that someone who wins all ten of only ten official duels all year loses out to someone with a ninety percent win rate out of a thousand duels.

"Your first chance to prove yourself will be the placement exams two weeks from now. Prepare yourselves with the expectation you could be placed in a duel against any other student in the school and not just against your own dorm mates."

Rumblings passed through the students. Upperclassmen knew how the placement exams worked already, but the new students expressed silent concerns about the possibility of dueling against a Ra or an Obelisk. It seemed like pitting either against a Slifer was the same as giving them a bye week in sports. The upperclassmen were excited by the prospect of checking out the "new blood" and determining who had the skills and potential to move to a better dorm.

Next to be introduced was Ashley Nagell, the school's physician on retainer. Like the other professors and the students, she lived on the island and was available for regular health-related questions every day between 08:00 and 16:00 plus any emergency situations. She gave the presentation on safety guidelines, including "stay away from the volcano," "abide by the rules of the hot tub and gymnasium," and "your mattresses can act as a floatation device in the event of severe flooding." Those were the only rules Bryan especially remembered hearing. Because life on this small island was so abnormal to most lifestyles, Dr. Nagell had the most to say and always referred back to the orientation packet and the Duel Academy app, and so Bryan zoned out for a while until Dr. West reclaimed the podium.

"Classes begin tomorrow. For today, we invite you to partake of the buffet lunch currently set up in the foyer, meet your classmates, get comfortable in your dorm, and explore the campus."

Dr. Lankford's first suggestion was by far his most popular. Everyone in the convocation center fled to the entrance hall as if they hadn't eaten in days. Apparently a little walk from the harbor to the main building was more exercise than most of the dueling nerds got in a long time, thought Bryan judgmentally. Being in the buffet line early because he was also feeling ravenous—despite his internal double standard—Bryan stood back and people-watched for a bit. The first thing he noticed was how many people glanced his way with a hint of fear or concern, the same way you'd look at Bigfoot if he just wandered into your buffet line.

"Does everyone seem exceptionally short here?" he asked Matt.

"No one is all that short from my level. Stop leering at everyone and they won't give you those looks."

"I'm not leering… unless by 'leering,' you mean 'staring in a creepy way.' I'm just people-watching, man. How do people do that and not bother everyone else?"

"Step One is to be attractive and female. Fewer people are bothered then."

"That's cynical."

"That's life."

Bryan shook his head and smiled, hoping that he would seem less intimidating/frightening/creepy if he looked like he were laughing at someone else's jokes. He noticed there were more people in yellow jackets than either other color, even though all the girls wore blue. Clearly most of the boys in school fit into that middle category where they were good enough to be associated with Duel Academy but not good enough to receive the full endorsement. The Slifers were definitely the minority, outnumbered in total by even the Obelisk girls. He wondered how many were first-years and how many had just not moved up yet.

The weird thing was that everyone was filing out of the hall as soon as they grabbed a plate of food. "Excuse me," Bryan said to a girl walking nearby in the buffet line. She was among the taller girls, but she had a stocky build, a lot like the girls' equivalent of Matt's body type. Her arms reminded him of Michelle Obama. "Where is everyone going?"

"Most of them are heading back to their dorms, some will go straight to the library, a select few will go on a makeshift date with a significant other, a handful will go to the hot springs, maybe two of them will go to the gym, and that guy right there is going back for a second helping."

It was a thorough and specific answer, but it left Bryan in the awkward position of still needing to introduce himself if he wanted to get her name. "That was very detailed. Thank you very much, Miss…?"

"Itachu. Mitsuro Itachu." From her name Bryan assumed she was Japanese, but at first glance he might have thought she could be American.

"I'm Bryan Knight. This is my buddy Matt Luther."

Mitsuro matched the near-scowl on Matt's face when she looked his way. "Something wrong with the food?"

"Nah, he just hates people," said Bryan.

Her expression softened. "Great. He'll fit right in. Most of the people here are loners and keep to themselves. Studies are their first priority because ranks here are in constant flux and everyone wants to be Number One."

"Sounds like fun," said Matt. "How hard would it actually be to get that Number One spot?"

Mitsuro cracked a smile and stifled a laugh she clearly didn't expect to have. "If that's your goal as a Slifer, best of luck to you."

"Thanks." With that, she walked away toward the exit door.

"I think you scared her off."

Matt's only response was, "I like the bandanna she wears. Good to know that Duel Academy doesn't suppress one hundred percent of individuality. Outside of our decks, I mean."

"Yeah. You want to hang around and try to meet some people?"

Shaking his head, Matt practically laughed, "No. We'll see everyone in class eventually. Let's just head back to the dorm and get unpacked. You still need to finish adjusting to our new time zone. We'll have time to explore later." He was right, but the time zone was only the second most significant factor that would give Bryan trouble sleeping behind moving into a new place.

Bryan's first impression that the Slifer Red dorm resembled a motel altered slightly as he got the tour from the headmaster. The building was two stories and contained a total of twelve bedrooms. Each room was accessed from the open air on the outside wall of the dormitory with no hallway or stairwell to connect them. The common room wasn't even accessible unless they walked outside of the dorm rooms and around the back of the building. The common room consisted of a sitting area that was essentially a rhomboid recess lined with four solid benches and a study room containing exactly one desk. A dark office in the back bore the label _Headmaster_. "That's where I will hold office hours every evening for those of you seeking faculty advice on how to improve yourselves and manage your workload," said Dr. Kerr, a double-Ph.D. in social and cognitive psychology.

As she handed out room assignments, Bryan was pleased to learn that Matt was his roommate. At least he knew from experience he would be able to handle living with him. They wandered upstairs to the farthest door and found their luggage piled neatly outside the door, just as it had been on the cruise ship. Bryan hoisted it all on his brawny shoulders while Matt opened the door into their bedroom. It was a small room that humped in the middle like a backward C. A recessed closet sat to the left, two desks sat to the right—one against the outside wall and one against the far wall—a third desk lined up by the hump in the middle of the room, a bookcase stood on the other side of the hump beside an open door, and three beds stacked in the back right corner.

"Three beds?" said Matt curiously.

The third boy was already present and stepped through the door behind the hump. He was fairly tall with natural blond hair and round spectacles on his face. "Jack Hansbury?" said Bryan, pretty sure he recognized the face even though it had been after dark when they met.

"Hey," said Jack. "Bryan, right? And I haven't met you yet. I'm Jack."

Matt stared at his hand for a moment as if it were an unwelcome gift before accepting the handshake. He made a point to make it a firmer handshake than what Jack reciprocated. "Matt Luther."

"Three people in this room together?" asked Bryan. The disappointment he felt was not hidden from his face even the slightest.

Jack noticed the discomfort and frowned. "Well, then you're _really_ not going to like the bathroom." He pointed back at the door in the rear of the room. Bryan and Matt took a look to see a small bathroom with two sinks to the right and two stalls to the left—one with a toilet and one with a shower. Straight across the floor, however, was another door leading into a second three-person dorm room. Bryan caught a glimpse of a really big guy eating from a bag of Bugles while sitting on the bottom bunk in the next room. Unfortunately the guy made eye contact before Bryan could hide, so he tipped his head back, said, "'Sup?" and then closed the door from his side.

"Oh, hell no," said Bryan. "They honestly expect us to share a bathroom among six guys? Matt can't even pee in a public restroom."

"Don't worry about me. I'll just go outside and pee in the ocean. Compared to where I come from, this is luxury accommodations." Matt shook his head and wandered back into the room to unpack his stuff and claim the top bunk by tossing his phone charger and the afghan he had brought with him. Jack had failed to claim a bunk, and Matt was unapologetic.

Bryan gave the bathroom a wistful look but chose not to say more out loud, relegating his complaints to the corner of his mind that still yearned to see Harry and Hermione end up together.

"Where do you come from?" asked Jack of Matt. Bryan shot him a look as if he were lacking tact, but Jack thought that was a legitimate question and didn't understand the implications. Matt ignored such implications, anyway.

"Tennessee. How about you?"

"San Diego, dueling capital of the U.S."

"Why is that?" asked Matt.

"Because all the best duelists come from there. And we have the most state-of-the-art dueling arenas anywhere in the country."

"Not technically accurate," said Matt. "There are only 160 functional dueling arenas in San Diego versus more than 100,000 across the United States. If you wanted to revise your claim that San Diego has the most of any one city… you'd still be wrong but by a much smaller margin."

Jack narrowed his eyes at Matt. "You're just a smarty-pants, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Great. Then I'll come to you for help with my gen-ed classes."

He referred to the general education classes which were part of every curriculum. No matter the concentration a student chose in his or her dueling studies, there was a minimum expectation of competency across topics covering a more generalized knowledge base. Society didn't need students whose brains only functioned for cards, and occasionally understanding of the cards expanded with extracurricular information.

As one example, students were required to earn six credits toward math and science over their three years. With two terms on a year, that means averaging one math or science class each term. Matt actually opted for one of each during this first term—specifically _Statistics_ and _Biology_. Bryan had been less interested in attempting such a work load, but he also wanted Matt in his classes to help with his homework, so he followed along. In addition, they enrolled in _Intro to Gaming_ and _Game Mechanics_ , two courses always recommended for first-year students, especially if they were Slifers.

It had taken some convincing, but Matt had relented and agreed not to take on a fifth course. As the workload for the average four courses meant being in the lecture halls for six hours per day with another two hours of homework (dormwork?), Bryan begged Matt not to overwhelm himself until after the first term, where he could get a proper feel for Duel Academy's expectations.

As if begging to be mocked for nerdism, Matt cracked open the biology textbook and laid out on the top bunk to begin reading. Bryan shook his head and muttered, "Dude." But it was the first class they had the next day, and so Matt didn't care if Bryan hated him for it. Drooping with disappointment in his best friend, Bryan tossed his bag toward the closet and began unloading it into the right side of the partition. He felt a bit of pride as he hung his Duel Academy uniform, and then he questioned why he had to buy a second spare when he realized he was still wearing yet another. Why did the school think it necessary to have three?

Jack gave Bryan a sidelong glance. "You feel like having your first official duel?"

"Definitely. I'll probably need to rack up hundreds of them over the term."

Jack stared sarcastically at the side of Bryan's head, waiting for the meaning of the question to penetrate his apparently thick skull.

Bryan seemed to feel the glare bearing down on him. Slowly raising his eyes to meet Jack's, he reacted with a start. "What, you mean right now?"

"Uh, ya! Are you that fascinated by unpacking?"

"Actually, I can't stop picturing myself with Bugles on my fingertips like witch fingernails. But how would we duel? Doesn't it have to be an electronic duel to make it official?"

"If only there were some way to find the nearest electronic dueling station," said Jack in a mocking tone as he revealed the screen of his phone. He had accessed the duel station map in the Academy's campus app. The Slifer dorm was not highlighted but there was a duel station nearby on the Oceanside cliff and along the path toward the Ra dorm. Bryan's eye further wandered around the screen to note some other locations.

"How come Ra and Obelisk each have duel stations _inside_ the dorm and we don't?"

"Not important. Grab your deck and let's go."

"No need," said Bryan. He leaned so he could point out where he had a deck box attached to his belt. He didn't have a legitimate belt clip for it, but he had made do by slicing two holes in the back of the box wide enough to slip his belt through. "I took your advice from the boat."

"Good for you. Then let's get going."

The pair wandered outside the dorm. A couple of their dorm mates on the first floor were still busy transferring all of their luggage into the room. Another door was propped open while the guys inside shouted their frustrations related to rearranging the room for "maximum efficiency." Bryan considered stepping in to help, but he decided to wait until tempers settled first. Maybe on the way back after the duel.

On the way, Bryan asked, "What happened to you on the ship? I came back to duel but you were gone."

"Oh, man. My little bathroom excursion turned into a nightmare. I was in there for half an hour. Turns out my body may love shrimp fresh off the grill, but those cold, cocktail shrimps give me the rumbly tumbly."

Frowning in disgust of a boy who would share the bathroom with him for a fully year, Bryan replied, "Good to know."

Jack had long-since accomplished his quota of ocean appreciation having been surrounded by it for two full days, and so he preferred to locate the dueling station settled in the shade of the trees. Bryan noted that the path from the harbor would lead directly into the table if not for the fork diverging toward the dorms. It was almost identical to the dueling station that was commonplace in amateur-level events such as his application duel. In short, the table was built from a series of lights and mirrors that could read his dueling cards and render a three-dimensional version on the arena between the two seats.

"How do we determine who goes first?" asked Bryan. He sat down on one side of the table and Jack sat down opposite.

"Shuffle this for me, please," said Jack, handing his deck to Bryan.

After Bryan handed over his deck, he began searching through Jack's cards.

"Hey! Don't do that. It's rude to read another duelist's cards without permission. The whole point is for you to respond in the game, not to try predicting each of my moves. Just cut the deck and give it back so we can duel."

"Sorry." Bryan shuffled the deck and offered the cards back to Jack.

"How do you normally decide who goes first? I think Duel Academy standards are either to let the machine pick randomly or to play Rock-Paper-Scissors and whoever wins gets to pick." Jack pulled out his student ID card and tapped it to the monitor on his side of the table. His ID picture appeared onscreen and asked for his personal identification number to verify. Bryan logged into his side of the table the same way, except he used his own PIN instead of copying Jack's.

"Usually when Matt and I duel, it's just whoever grabs his cards first goes first."

Sniggering, Jack said, "That's definitely not a standard." He grabbed enough cards from his shuffled deck to constitute an opening hand. "But if you insist, I will start us off."

Bryan 8000: Jack 8000.

Jack paused long enough to watch Bryan draw his opening hand. Fortunately Bryan was somewhat skilled at holding his body language steady during a duel to avoid giving away any crucial hints. To test the waters, as it were, Jack decided, "I will set one card face-down and end my turn."

"Big talk for such a lackluster play," said Bryan. "In response, I will summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (3: 1200/800)." A female Hero wearing a red bodysuit appeared on the field. "No trap? Then I'll attack." Burstinatrix generated a fireball in her hand and shot it across the field like a flaming baseball.

Bryan 8000: Jack 6800.

Jack asked, "Did you mean to leave yourself defenseless?"

"What do you mean? I have Burstinatrix."

With a nod, Jack drew his next card. "I special summon Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit (6: 2100/1400)." The dragon that appeared floating above the field looked to Bryan almost like it bore scales of pearl underneath the weight of gold plate mail. "I now offer Tefnuit as a tribute to special summon Hieratic Dragon of Nebthet (5: 2000/1600)." The second dragon bore scales that sparkled with a purple hue under its golden armor. "When Tefnuit is tributed, I can special summon Dragon Core Hexer (8: 2300/3000)." Not a dragon herself, the warrior who appeared carried herself much like her namesake and armed herself with the scales of a sapphire dragon.

As Bryan read through the lore text on the Hexer card, he also noticed that the card's attack and defense points all fell to zero.

"That's what happens when Tefnuit summons a monster. Didn't you know that?"

Bryan shrugged. "I might have known it at some point. There are a lot of cards to memorize, though."

Jack smirked. "That's fair. Try to keep up. I'll offer Nebthet as a tribute to special summon Hieratic Dragon of Su (6: 2200/1000)." The newest dragon had scales of bright blue as if reflecting the splendor of the sky. "Nebthet's effect lets me special summon Labradorite Dragon (6: 0/2400)." A dragon rendered as if borne directly from mineral, with shimmering feldspar dotting its backside. Its points dropped immediately to zero, a side effect of being summoned by a Hieratic Dragon effect.

Suddenly Jack grabbed both his Hieratic Dragon of Su and his Labradorite Dragon and stacked them into a single monster card zone for an Xyz summon. This was a technique Bryan was familiar with-hard not to be considering how commonplace it had become in recent months-but one with which he did not have much immediate experience. Instead of fusing his monsters through Polymerization, Jack had overlaid their cards and set a new one on top. Hieratic Dragon King of Atum (6: 2400/2100) brought with it powerful energy, flushing the field with purple aura as it roared.

"I activate Atum's effect," said Jack. "By detaching one Xyz material, I special summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (10: 2800/2400)." He placed in defense mode a massive dragon with a metallic sheen and shining red eye. Bryan watched its points drop to zero, just like with the other dragons. "Once per turn, Red-Eyes can summon one dragon to my field, so I choose to bring back Hieratic Dragon of Nebthet (5/2000/1600)." Those penetrating red eyes shone brightly, and a cloud of darkness appeared in an open monster zone. His purple dragon charged out of the cloud and stopped in defense mode. "Finally, by using Nebthet's effect, I will send Atum to the graveyard as a tribute to destroy Burstinatrix."

Bryan quickly swiped through the virtual list of the cards in each player's graveyards. "I'm confused. Did you summon enough monsters during that turn? You might have fallen just short of the world record."

"Just duel your turn, smart guy."

"Why didn't you try to attack me? An army like that and you just settled for destroying my monster through an effect?"

"I literally can't attack during the turn Atum's effect activates. And I was far more interested in moving my monsters around than in dealing with a single, normal monster. So don't worry about me."

"Yeah, fine. I'll play Monster Reborn so I can summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (3: 1200/800) from the graveyard." His spandex-clad warrior climbed back up to the field in a burst of flame.

Jack interrupted. "I discard Maxx "C" from my hand to draw one card."

Bryan made a face. "You couldn't wait for your own turn to do that?"

"It only works when you special summon on your turn."

"Oh. Alrighty. I'll play Skyscraper." When Bryan placed the card into the space reserved for field spells, his side of the table transformed from a generic field of grass and trees into a bustling city filled with towering buildings covered by glass windows. Despite their being rendered to be transparent, Bryan found it still somewhat challenging to adequately see through them. "If I had to select the most problematic monster on your field, I'd name Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (-0/-0)." He triggered the command for Burstinatrix to attack that specific monster card.

"Good call," said Jack. "But I want to keep my Red-Eyes, so I'll play... Compulsory Evacuation Device!" He intentionally placed a pause before the name of the card and demonstrated excitable flair when flipping it over. A mechanical cannon—not unlike the launch pad of a rocket—appeared beneath Burstinatrix and fired her high into the air.

Bryan pursed his lips, but then he grabbed his Burstinatrix card. "That's the one that returns my monster to my hand, which means she can't complete the attack."

"That's right!"

Unfortunately, his hand had been stingy so far, and now Bryan had no cards left to play. "I guess that ends my turn."

"Ooo, ouch. Tough break, roomie." But Jack's sympathy was fleeting. "I activate my Red-Eyes so I can summon Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit (6: 2100/1400) once again." The red eyes shone brightly and summoned up another dark portal, from which appeared the pearl-white dragon. "Now I open a Monster Gate using Nebthet's energy." Jack's cryptic language was made obvious when he activated a spell card by offering a monster as a tribute. A glowing glyph appeared in the sky, and a purple dragon with copper armor emerged: the Hieratic Dragon of Eset (5: 1900/1200). "And since that card sent Nebthet to the graveyard, his effect activates so I can summon Hieratic Seal of the Sun Dragon Overlord (8: 0/0)." Although gigantic in size, larger than all other cards to reach the field yet, the new monster was little more than a shining, gold ball flowing with energy.

Bryan was riveted, struggling to keep up with the effects of all the cards flying back and forth across Jack's side of the table. If all Duel Academy students dueled at this level, he was going to have to step up his game.

"Now I activate Eset's ability: For this turn, all Hieratic monsters I have become Level 8 to match my sealed Sun Dragon Overlord. That means I can overlay Tefnuit (+8), Eset (+8), and Dragon Core Hexer (8) to summon Coach King Giantrainer (8: 2800/2000)." The second of such Xyz monsters summoned by Jack, Giantrainer was aptly named: It stood taller than any monster so far, wielding as weapons more than a half-dozen bats, swords, and training poles. "I detach one Xyz material so I can draw a card and show you." It was a duplicate of Compulsory Evacuation Device. "Again." He detached another Xyz material and drew again. It was a spell card Bryan didn't recognize. Jack frowned. "Let's try one more time." He detached another Xyz material and then drew Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning. "That's better. Since it's a monster card, you take 800 points of damage."

Bryan 7200: Jack 6800

"Now I banish Nebthet and Labradorite Dragon from my graveyard to summon Black Luster Soldier (8: 3000/2500) to the field." As his name implied, the warrior bore shimmering black armor and carried a curved sword in his hand. But he didn't stay long as Jack overlaid the Black Luster Soldier with the sealed Sun Dragon Overlord to summon Number 38: Hope Harbinger Dragon Titanic Galaxy (8: 3000/2500), a mechanical dragon wearing bulky white armor and without defined legs.

"I'll set one card and end my turn," said Jack.

Bryan rolled his eyes. "I already know that card is Compulsory Evacuation Device."

Jack shrugged. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

"Well, I'm just gonna have Burstinatrix (1200) attack your Red-Eyes (-0) again. How you respond to that is up to you."

"I don't have a trap for that. Instead, I'll detach one Xyz material from Titanic Galaxy (3000) so that it becomes your attack target instead."

"Well, Skyscraper's effect activates. When my Heroes attack a monster with more attack points, they gain a thousand extra points."

Jack made a face. "2200 is still lower than 3000."

"So it is, Jack. So it is. In that case, I'll drop Elemental Hero Honest Neos from my hand to the graveyard." The transparent essence of Bryan's tall Hero in white appeared behind Burstinatrix. The figure disappeared inside her as a stream of energy, and brilliant wings emerged from her back. "Doing that gives Burstinatrix (+4700) another 2500 points."

With an annoyed pause, Jack said, "Now I'll play Compulsory Evacuation Device. Take back Burstinatrix, please."

"Yeah, fine. It's your turn now."

Jack shook his head. "Boy, you have a terrible hand."

"I've noticed. Usually it's better balanced than this."

"I'm sure." But he didn't sound sure. He sounded snarky. And he had every right to be, perhaps. Jack immediately launched two direct attacks against Bryan using Titanic Galaxy (3000) and Giantrainer (2800).

Bryan 1400: Jack 6800.

"I'll also use the effect of my Red-Eyes to summon Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit (6: 2100/1400) once more. And then I'll offer Tefnuit on the field as a tribute to summon Tefnuit from my hand." His pearly dragon disappeared only to be replaced with an exact replica. "And when Tefnuit is tributed, I get to special summon Dragon Core Hexer (8: -0/-0) again." His warrior woman reappeared in her sapphire-hued dragon armor. "That ends my turn."

"Great. Since you set me up so well for it, I'll play Instant Fusion and pay 1000 Life Points to summon one of my fused Elemental Heroes." A cup similar to instant noodles settled on the field in front of. As soon as the seal cracked, Jack responded.

"Nope. Titanic Galaxy can negate that effect." The mechanical dragon released a powerful surge of energy through the air that overwhelmed and disarmed the cup of fusion noodles. "And then your Instant Fusion card becomes Xyz material for Titanic Galaxy." He extended his open palm across the table.

Bryan 400: Jack 6800.

Bryan was reluctant, but he handed over his spell card. "That sucks. But at least since you decided not to destroy my Burstinatrix, you set me up to summon Elemental Hero Blazeman (4: 1200/1800)." Bryan's familiar monster appeared with a punch in blazing orange armor. "Summoning him brings Polymerization to my hand. And that means I can fuse Burstinatrix and Avian into Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (6: 2100/1200)." Bryan's fused Hero looked like a true combination of monsters, bearing a green, humanoid body with a dragon-like right arm and tail and a single wing over his left shoulder.

Finally things were looking up. "I'll have Flame Wingman (2100) attack Titanic Galaxy (3000)." And thanks to the effect of Skyscraper, Flame Wingman (+3100) gained an extra 1000 points for the confrontation. Extending its dragonic arm, Flame Wingman released a spray of fire that engulfed the armored dragon and consumed it into ash. The unstoppable stream of fire overflowed the table and licked Jack's Life Points. "Whenever Flame Wingman destroys a monster, you also lose Life Points equal to that monster's attack points."

Bryan 400: Jack 3700.

"Plus I still have Blazeman. And he can destroy your Red-Eyes." With a fist soaked in flame, Blazeman punched a hole that melted straight through the metal scales of the Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (-0). "That ends my turn."

Jack shook his head. "And the duel, sadly. Despite your almost-comeback, your monsters are still defenseless. I don't even need to summon anything else for Giantrainer (2800) to destroy Flame Wingman (2100) and take the rest of your Life Points."

Bryan 0: Jack 3700.

In all honesty, Bryan had expected to win that duel. Part of him hoped that Jack would turn out to be all bluster and a bit of a pushover like Ashley from the cruise ship. So much for being a breakout expert at the start of the school term. His first official duel and he put up a big L.

But at least he could put on a brave face. He offered a strong handshake to his worthy opponent. "Hey, good game, roomie. That's a strong deck you have there."

"Yeah, I know," said Jack. He had a pretentious look in his eye. "I'm glad we established which of us is superior right off the bat like this."

"Come again?"

"And for my victory prize, you have to stay away from my girl."

Through narrowed eyes, Bryan wasn't sure what was going on. "Which one is your girl?"

"I haven't decided yet. But you're a fairly attractive guy and you have a lot of muscles. We're both tall but you're somehow taller. Girls tend to like that, so you have to back off."

"Okay, but what if she comes on to me?"

His look turned into a glare. "Just remember what I said, yeah? I'm headed back to the dorm. Take your time collecting your dignity."

Once again, Bryan wished he could come up with a speedy comeback, but Jack had already gone too far to hear it. "Suck my dignity," was the best he could come up with. What a lousy introduction to a roommate he would have to live with for a full term.

* * *

 **Thanks to _Titanic X_ for contributing Mitsuro again to the story. It's good to have a familiar character I can work with. For anyone who has yet to send in a character but would like to, I heavily encourage it. There are many students at this school and I've only introduced a handful of teachers; lots of roles remain unfilled at the moment.**

 **Dueling is so much more in-depth now than it was back when I first started. Metal Raiders was the new set when I assembled my first deck and now you can barely read a deck list without at least six Xyz monsters. I feel better about the quality of the duels so far but I am still perfectly interested in having help from anyone who wants to volunteer. In my mind, this first school year is right around 2015 in terms of card availability. I'm still uncomfortable with Pendulum monsters and I don't even know how Links work yet, so setting this approximate timeline helps me stall while I learn.**


	4. The People Who Teach at Duel Academy

Chapter 4: The People Who Teach At Duel Academy

"Look at this one. 'The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.' You think I could get any kind of pass on my homework if I explain that I don't believe in evolution?" asked Bryan as he thumbed through the Biology I syllabus.

Matt simply replied, "Do it." He didn't care what the idea was as long as Bryan stepped out of his comfort zone to deliver it. His encouragement was usually heard but never heeded, anyway. Bryan had always been all talk and too nervous to act.

"What do you think he'll say?" asked Bryan. His eyes widened at the sight of the man he suspected to be the biology teacher.

The man was obviously not a core dueling professor, as indicated by his black coat. All the dueling professors wore primary colors to match the dorms, and the associates wore black. The fullness of color represented the way such professors belonged to all Duel Academy students regardless of dueling rank or skill. This man appeared more disheveled than any Matt had yet seen on campus. His black coat was unbuttoned, revealing a navy, four-button suit that was missing two buttons and a striped necktie in a loose Windsor knot. His shoes were ragged Converse in red, a stark contrast to the rest of his outfit.

"Did this guy get dressed in the dark today?" asked Matt. "Look at his hair."

Bryan shrugged. "He puts a bit too much gel in it. So?"

"It's not gel, it's mousse. And that's a lazy man's style. See how it looks like he put in product and just gave a single upward pull? I'll bet that's exactly what he did."

"Some people pay a lot of money to get their hair styled like that."

"This guy gets it by sheer luck, I guarantee it."

The fashion criminal said a few words to some of the students in the front row. Being a general education class, Biology I was attended by a colorful mixture of fifty students. Bryan recognized Wikolia from the cruise ship in her blue Obelisk uniform sitting in the second row. Otherwise he knew no one's name except Cary—nicknamed Jim Cary—who sat in the front all the way at the farthest corner from the door. He was surprised to see there was an auburn-haired girl seated beside her. He had figured Cary for a lone wolf, but then he realized she might just be keeping a roommate near as life support the same way he clung to Matt. Most of the other faces were only vaguely familiar either from the ship or from the welcome buffet.

There was one guy sitting beside Wikolia who looked familiar. He looked fairly common in all features except for his coat: Still of the exact design as most boys' Duel Academy jackets, this mystery jacket was green.

"Who's that guy?" asked Bryan.

Matt glanced around the room at the forty people who fit that description. "You're kidding, right?"

"The one beside Wikolia," he clarified.

"Looks like that guy Andrew who proctored your application practical."

Bryan was almost overcome with excitement now that he finally knew why the guy looked familiar. He said "Yes!" a little too loudly and drew attention from his classmates.

"Good morning, class," spoke the man with the crazy outfit. His voice was bright and cheery to match his smile. Matt suspected it was a ruse to relax the students before he crushed them with homework.

Bryan tried to ask why Andrew was the only one wearing green but Matt shushed him in favor of hearing what the professor had to say.

"Welcome to Biology I. For those of you who have not been in one of my classes before, I am the professor. Now, I trust you all reviewed the syllabus without me and you are not children; therefore, I need not read it to you. To begin, we will discuss how life evolves constantly in a changing environment."

"Excuse me, professor," interrupted a boy in Slifer red from the third row. Matt remembered seeing him at the Slifer tour. "Do you have a name we should use when we speak to you?"

The professor had stopped and looked at the student expectantly, as if he had hoped for a thought-provoking discussion within the first two minutes of class beginning. He was let down but he never lost his smile or energy. "Yes, I do," he said. He turned away and continued saying, "No doubt you are all familiar with evolution and its sister theory known as _survival of the fittest_."

Bryan whispered to Matt, "In defense of Oscar Apple, Ph. D.'s response which ignored the question, his name is written on the syllabus."

Matt didn't care. He raised his hand to interrupt the professor's flow. Even so, he waited patiently for three minutes until the professor finally noticed the raised hand and called on him. "I don't believe in evolution," he said boldly, drawing baffled reactions from his classmates.

The professor was unfazed, however. "Why is that?"

"If humans really evolved from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys?" Despite jumping with glee on the inside, Matt held a serious expression, never once betraying his true feelings on the subject. He did catch Cary's eye at one point: Her face expressed distaste in his decision to disrupt the lecture with bullshit.

The professor simply pointed at Matt while his smile grew wider. "An excellent example, Mr. Luther, of intentionally misrepresenting the science of evolution in order to shift the argument into a less scientific yet more debatable field. Point of fact, humans and apes share a common ancestor that was neither human nor ape. At no point did modern-day apes simply transform into modern-day _homo sapiens_."

Matt immediately fired back. "What about _Ornithorhynchus anatinus_? They remain almost completely unchanged after 150 million years." Now that he reached into the obscure knowledge, he had much of the classroom rumbling as the others tried to figure out what he just said.

Yet the professor didn't miss a beat. "The so-called duck-billed platypus is indeed an evolutionary obscurity, as are _Didelphidae_ or opossums." He activated the lecture screen and two giant images appeared including a sample of each mammal. "While no answers in science can ever truly be one hundred percent certain, there is consensus that platypuses serve as evidence of evolution by sheer virtue of seeming like an exception."

Another hand went up, this time belonging to a boy in Ra yellow. "Dr. Apple, isn't the word 'platypi'?"

The professor said, "No," and moved on with his lecture. As he delved into detail on how living in a stable environment in Australia where there is little marine mammalian competition for resources lends credibility to the theory that evolution is necessary for survival in a changing environment, Matt slumped back into his seat.

"That was bold," said Bryan. "I wish I could do that just once."

"I wasn't counting on his making that part of the lecture," said Matt with a defeated sigh. It was like the professor planned his introductory lecture around the necessity of at least one student being intentionally contrary. And he even knew who Matt was without roll call or anything. First time a teacher ever ended up a couple steps ahead of Matt like that. Just made him look forward to that class even more.

* * *

As the lecture wound down and the professor dismissed the students, Bryan was already acting like the weight of the semester carried on his shoulders. Matt was under no such stress after only a single lecture. Dr. Apple had put forth heavy expectations of reading through the textbook, but with only a mention of forthcoming projects and assignments, there was no real homework yet.

"That was brutal," said Bryan.

"That was nothing," said Matt.

"Okay, Brainiac. I guess you won't mind giving me the Cliff Notes of the textbook, then."

"Is it that hard to just read the material?" He meant the question rhetorically. Despite his constant bitching, Bryan was usually good for studying on his own, although sometimes he didn't get started until a night or two before the test.

Bryan lifted his leg one at a time over the lecture hall seats and leaned in to stretch out his hamstrings. "We have lunch next, right?"

"Not until 12:30."

"What! It has to be at least that late already."

"It's only 11:10. We have to head to the Area Duels."

Bryan's expression fell as the realization of hunger grew within him. "Oh, yeah. I remember seeing that. I thought it was a typo."

"Of what?"

"I don't know. _Arena_ duels or something."

Matt shook his head and threw his bag over his shoulder. "Nope. It's _area_." He caught movement from the corner of the room and his eye was drawn to Cary and her auburn-haired companion. Twice they glanced in his direction as they gather their notebooks. In his experience, that meant either they would say something to him or he had an opening to speak to them.

"Why do they call it that?"

"No idea."

"Are they dueling in a specific area of the school?"

Matt frowned. "Yes, actually. But I hope to god that's not where the name comes from." He quickly stepped backward into the aisle of the lecture hall—tiered like a staircase with long steps—just in time to bar the path for Cary and her friend. "Oh, excuse me," he said, faking an awkward smile and embarrassment. "I'm so clumsy." Actually, the awkwardness was not as fake as he liked to think, even when he was intentionally obnoxious.

The redhead didn't take it that way, however. She smiled back a far more genuine smile. She shook her head and said, "It's okay. I'm clumsy, too."

Matt pulled himself into a steady position, standing just an inch or so taller than the girl but looking as strong and proud as he could underneath the red jacket. "I'm Matt, biology enthusiast. If you might be interested in forming a study group, I would love to get your number."

The girl glanced coyly toward Cary, who said, "Studying has always been kind of an alone thing for me."

"I don't know," said her friend. "Dr. Apple had so much to say just on the first day. I think a study group could be a good idea." She extended a hand to ask for Matt's phone. He unlocked it, handed it to her, and watched her input her number.

"Kasumi," he read. "That's a pretty name."

"Your pronunciation is good," she said.

"I watch a lot of anime. But you are the truly impressive one. From guessing, I would expect you had two Japanese parents, but your English is impeccable. One European parent?"

Kasumi smiled again, which looked really great on her. "No, both of my parents are Japanese. I learned English in school from someone who was military in the United States."

"Oh, yeah? What branch?"

"Navy, I think."

Matt smirked and pressed his eyes closed for a moment while he mentally shook himself clear. He didn't care one way or the other what military branch Kasumi's English teacher served in. Why even waste time on a question like that when he should be asking what she looked like underneath that Obelisk jacket? All he knew for sure thanks to the sleeveless vest-jacket and the skirt was that Kasumi had thinner limbs than Cary did.

"We should be downstairs," said Cary.

"She's right," said Bryan. "Area duels start soon." He had no idea what time, but he hope it was soon. The sooner the duels finished, the sooner he could find lunch.

As they hit the stairs and began to descend to the basement level, Cary said, "He plays a Dark Magician deck."

Kasumi's eyes lit up. "Oh! I remember. That's so exciting for me. I ran a deck based on the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, so finding out someone else got accepted while playing a nostalgia deck is reassuring."

"It's funny to hear you say that. Everyone we talked to said Matt was lucky not to be expelled instantly for trying to mimic Yugi Mutou," said Bryan.

"Why should that matter?" asked Cary. She sounded genuine, but that was just an indication that she was preparing for the sarcastic comment to follow. Indeed, she waited a beat before adding, "It's not like you built the same first deck as literally every other player in the world based on a fictional character used to promote the cards when the game was initially published."

Matt replied, "I made it better. It's not like I kept Berfomet or the Magnet Warriors. Real or not, Yugi never used Prisma. I'm literally focused on just Dark Magician."

"Isn't that the name of every single monster in your deck?" joked Bryan, but he wasn't far wrong, either, save Elemental Hero Prisma.

Kasumi lightly tapped Matt's arm as she beamed. "Don't worry about what everyone else thinks. You got in, and that's what's important. That's already proof that the Dark Magician is a good card if you use it right."

Matt gave her a return smile. As he did, he noticed a smirk on Cary's face. He was dying to ask her about it, but he didn't want to do so in front of Kasumi and take the focus off of her. There was bound to be a point of relative isolation soon enough: He would ask her then.

The group walked into the basement arena to find out almost the entire student body was present for the area duel. One of the duelists was a tall Obelisk blue student with a buzz cut and what looked like a caterpillar clinging desperately to his nose. His opponent was average height with medium-length-for-a-guy hair and a face covered in acne. More discerning about him, however, is that he wore a green coat, just like Andrew did. Both guys wore mechanical Duel Disks on their forearms, a device common to professional duelists and all who could afford their own.

"They get to use Duel Disks?" Bryan asked. "Does Duel Academy supply them?"

"You have to buy them," said Kasumi. "More money on top of the tuition. They're available in the bookstore, or you can special order them if you want a specific model."

"They're less useful than you think," said Cary, chiming in. "They come with portable hologram projectors, but you have to be careful with them for longevity, and they have huge limitations. Duel Academy, however, has most of the projection equipment already installed in the arenas, so you can use the Duel Disk almost anywhere here."

No matter its overall utility in the modern world, Matt still thought a portable dueling arena was badass, and even without the money to pay for it, he would seek a way to get one of his own.

Dr. Lankford, vice-chancellor of the academy, presented the two duelists and introduced the purpose and function of the area duels.

"We call them 'area' because attendance is only mandatory when someone from your focus area is dueling," he explained. "Dave Strickland and Jim Carr both have a competitive dueling focus, and so it is a pleasure to see all of their classmates have shown for this meeting. As for all of our new arrivals, I cannot encourage enough that you attend all area duels, even when not mandatory. The skillsets demonstrated with open audience here will offer you valuable tips for improvement as you study. Always endeavor to learn from your classmates just as you learn from your professors.

"For today's duel, Jim challenged Dave by offering his gold-print Doomcaliber Knight as ante. Dave accepted the offer and provided a mystery counteroffer. I have already cut their decks. Gentlemen, you may begin when ready." He stepped aside and the two duelists shook hands before taking up positions on opposite ends of the stage.

Matt peered intently at Cary. She looked back at him as if she had no idea there was a problem. He whispered, "Your last name is Strickland." She offered no reply except to ignore him and return her gaze to the stage.

"What's with the ante?" asked Bryan. "I thought people weren't allowed to take each other's cards here."

"The ante is required as part of the area duels," said a girl who had sat right in front of Bryan. She turned her head to answer his question, and it was just enough for Matt to recognize her as Mitsuro Itachu, whom they met at the first day buffet. Once he recognized her face, he realized he could also identify her by the green bandanna covering the top of her head.

Instead of starting small talk, which Mitsuro obviously didn't want or else she might have done so already, Bryan leaned forward and asked, "Why just the area duels?"

"It's a way to encourage people to participate in public," she answered. "You'd be surprised how many people would be content to just sit in a dark room and duel one-on-one without putting it all out there for public criticism."

 _I wouldn't be,_ thought Matt, but he opted not to speak aloud. It made sense to him that only a handful of personalities that come to Duel Academy would actively seek the limelight. While everyone shared a fascination with _Yu-Gi-Oh! Gaming_ , not everyone wanted to duel for a living. Some wanted to design cards and artwork, for example. Those students would avoid the public displays unless it were required of them or they were somehow rewarded.

Based on the pure relaxation in Jim Carr's stance, he was one of those who desired being the center of attention. He took his moves nice and slow, the kind of guy who always strolled everywhere, jaunty, jolly. No need to rush, even for a bus—there will always be another. He made the Duel Disk on his arm look cool.

"Make your move, Big Dave," he said in a slow drawl.

Matt was surprised to find he could hear Jim's words as well as if he were onstage. He figured the stage had microphones hidden throughout.

Dave cocked a half-smile on his face. "Always happy to oblige. I'll set one monster and end my turn." Just like with the table-based stations, a holographic card appeared in front of Dave. Scaling up from the table to a full stage, this one was supersized.

"That's all? Come on, man. If you give me a free turn, you won't get to whip out the big guns."

Bryan whispered to ask what "the big guns" meant. Cary shot him a silencing look that said, "Watch and learn."

Jim looked at his cards for a moment before deciding to set a monster and two more cards.

Instead of haranguing him, Dave just smiled. "See? A little face-down never hurt anyone. But I'll flip Magical Merchant (1: 200/700)." A purple arachnid the size of a toddler emerged on the field. It carried a massive sack on its back; one hand at a time reached into the sack and removed an object to display to his opponent as if offering a sales pitch for each. Each object was shaped like a playing card and represented the cards Dave excavated from his deck and subsequently dropped in the graveyard. The tenth object was a spell card, which excited the Magical Merchant and he stopped offering more objects. Dave kept that card in his hand.

"My card sent Gem-Knight Lazuli to the graveyard," said Dave. "That means I can move a normal monster to my hand." He revealed a card bearing the image of a golden left arm. It was rare, but Matt was excited. He knew the card.

"I set one more monster to end my turn."

Jim smiled. "You waited too long, Dave."

"Let's see what deck you put together to stop me."

"Here goes. I'll flip Ghostrick Jiangshi (3: 400/1800)." The monster resembled a small child with ghost-white skin and vampiric clothing. He pulled the seal paper from his face and tossed it away as a playing card. "That effect brings Specter to my hand. For my normal summon, I play Ghostrick Mummy (3: 1500/0)." A poorly-wrapped corpse appeared, tongue lolling out of its mouth. Matt wondered whether mummies actually should even have tongues. "With Mummy's effect, I'll normal summon again for Ghostrick Yeti (3: 300/2000)." The monster had a massive form, but it otherwise looked unintimidating, like a big teddy bear.

"Time to get big. I stack Jiangshi (3) and Mummy (3) to summon Ghostrick Alucard (3: 1800/1600)." Humanoid in shape, the ghostly being had glowing eyes and fangs like a vampire. The creature curled in one arm and then popped out the elbow, snapping his fingers. In the same instant, Dave's set monster caught fire. "By removing one Xyz material, your face-down card is destroyed.

"Now it's time to start the attacks. Yeti (300) attacks Merchant (200)." The gigantic yeti looked far more overpowered next to the bug than it actually was. It attacked by grabbing the Merchant in its massive hand and squeezing it too hard from excitement… because it didn't get to see a lot of bugs, perhaps?

Dave 7900: Jim 8000

"Alucard (1800) will attack directly." An icy wind billowed from the vampire's cape and struck Dave's field like invisible razor blades.

Dave 6100: Jim 8000

"That ends the attacks. Now Yeti's effect lets him go face-down—" The massive beast disappeared into the holographic card. "—and I use Alucard to summon Downerd Magician (4: 2100/200)." His vampiric Xyz monster grew a rank into a blue-haired woman in pink wielding a chemistry set. She drank from two potions and gained 400 attack points. "That ends my turn."

Dave nodded but did not betray any concerns for failure. "I play Monster Reincarnation." He discarded one card and then fingered through his graveyard.

"Uh oh. I know what that means," said Jim.

"I'm sure you don't. I choose Magical Merchant. Its reincarnated form goes to my hand. And then because I'm terrible at bluffing, I'll claim that I'm setting a random monster that you don't know what it is, except we both know it's Magical Merchant. I'll play Foolish Burial so I can take A/D Changer from my deck and drop him in the graveyard." His monster appeared to be swallowed up by the ground with a shovel outside the grave, implying it had been buried by a collapse of the hole or some similar bad luck. "I banish A/D Changer from my graveyard so I can change my monster's battle position, meaning Magical Merchant (1: 200/300) is flipped face-up again."

The bug began offering up deals and specials on a wide variety of cards again when Jim said, "Nope," and a slew of iron chains wrapped around the bug, locking it in place. "I use Fiendish Chain." With his trap card revealed, Dave's monster was frozen and could not activate its effect.

"Very well. I end my turn."

"Good. Then the duel is mine," said Jim. He couldn't seem to let go of that premise. "I'll start with Pot of Duality." A ewer appeared on the field with a serene face carved in crystal. Jim picked up three cards, and when he chose to keep one, the ewer pivoted to reveal a face like a goblin sticking its tongue out.

"I'll flip my Yeti (3: 300/2000) again. And I'll add Ghostrick Stein (3: 1600/0)." Following suit with the other themed cards thus far, this monster resembled Frankenstein's monster, except cartoonish with blue skin. "Downerd (+2500) attacks Merchant (200)."

"I chain Spell Recycler," said Dave. He banished another card from his graveyard. "I select a spell card, one card from my deck goes to the discard, and Monster Reincarnation goes to the bottom of my deck now."

Dave's card effect didn't change what was happening on the field, though. Instead of squishing the bug by accident, the science-driven witch concocted a potion that, when it made contact, dissolved the Merchant instantly. Dave was lucky to be playing with holograms because some of the acid splashed far enough to soak his foot. One of Downerd Magician's potions wore off and she dropped 200 points.

Dave 3800: Jim 8000

"Now Stein (1600) attacks directly."

"I play Battle Fader," said Dave. A monster appeared that looked like the hands of a clock moving on their own, connected by the face of a demon. The shorter, bell hand swung from left to right, and Jim's monster stopped its attack. Summoned only during a direct attack, Battle Fader ended the battle phase of the current turn.

"Then I'll put Yeti face-down again and end my turn."

Dave grinned. "I'll set a monster."

"You're kidding me, Strickland. Prepare to lose this thing. I'll play another Pot of Duality." Another two-faced ewer appeared on the field to give Jim three cards and then reclaim two of them. "I'll flip Yeti (3: 300/2000) once more and then summon Ghostrick Lantern (1: 800/0)." This monster resembled a floating scarecrow with a jack-o-lantern for a head.

"Now Downerd (+2300) attacks your monster."

As Jim expected, it was another Magical Merchant (300) that was eaten away by the witch's acid. Before it could fade, it ran through an extensive supply of wares—sixteen cards in total before finding a Monster Reincarnation to give Dave.

Dave 1800: Jim 8000

"You sent most of your Exodia parts to the graveyard, Dave. What are you holding right now? Two?"

"Very observant, Jim. But Merchant just sent a whole bunch of cards to the graveyard, so now we have a whole bunch of effects coming. First, because he was sent from the deck to the grave, I summon Wulf, Lightsworn Beast (4: 2100/300)." A humanoid wolf with silver fur burst onto the field, armed with a heavy poleax and claws like Wolverine.

"But that's not all. Tour Bus to the Underworld activates to shuffle Foolish Burial back into my deck."

Jim stepped in. "Don't forget that attacking with Downer Magician sent Alucard to the graveyard, which means I can take a Ghostrick from the graveyard back to my hand."

"Good. But my side of the chain isn't done yet, either. Gem-Knight Lazuli was sent to the graveyard, so I can move a normal monster from the graveyard to my hand. Actually, _two_ Lazulis were sent by the Merchant, so I can move _two_ normal monsters." He claimed the Right Arm and Right Leg of the Forbidden One. Just like that, Dave held four of the cards he needed for an instant win.

Jim nodded as all the effects resolved in reverse order, leaving Dave with a powerful monster defending him. "Okay. Stein (1600) will destroy Battle Fader (0)." The lumbering monster looked like it fell as it swung its heavy arm against the demonic clock hands. "Yeti and Lantern set themselves for protection. Now it's your turn."

Dave shook his head. "You failed to stop me, Jim." He activated Monster Reincarnation. Jim's expression sank as he realized that Dave was right. Dave already held the four normal monsters in his hand. When Monster Reincarnation resolved, the main head—Exodia the Forbidden One—moved right beside the others.

Dave placed all five cards on his Duel Disk to prove that he held them in his hand. The duel stage displayed an elaborate scene in which five seals were broken on a monster so powerful it could not be contained within the game. Each twitch of Exodia's body turned one of Jim's cards into ash, repeated until he had no cards remaining. Unleashing an undead roar, Exodia filled the field with blinding light and fire that incinerated every last one of Jim's Life Points.

"Goddamn," Bryan uttered.

Matt asked, "Impressed?"

"Incredibly. First of all, Exodia is so hard to win with. That guy made it look super easy. If people make fun of your Dark Magician deck for being hard to win with, why not make fun of his? Probably because he responds by beating everyone in a single turn."

"You didn't actually need anyone else for this conversation, did you?"

Bryan shook his head. "No, I can handle it myself."

Kasumi stood and stretched. Matt watched the hemline of her skirt as she did. It had curled up a bit while she sat, revealing another inch of her leg before she straightened it out, much to his chagrin.

"I'm so hungry," she announced.

"You read my mind," said Bryan. He also stood and offered to let Kasumi walk past him and lead the way to the main building's dining hall.

Matt also let Kasumi walk by first, but then he blocked Cary and waited until both Bryan and Kasumi were several steps away. He glanced over to see that Mitsuro had also moved on. The two were pretty much as alone as they could get.

"Why aren't you the least bit bothered by the way I'm flirting with your roommate?"

She cocked an eyebrow sharply, as if to say, "Am I supposed to care that my roommate has a thing for you?"

"Are you trying to set us up to date… or whatever the equivalent of dating is when you live on an island with literally no other humans than the people running the school?"

"Is that a problem?" she asked.

Matt considered her question for a moment. "I guess not. What was the mystery card he anted up?"

Cary knew who "he" was in that sentence, despite the non sequitur. She didn't shy away from Matt's overbearing attitude, but she did push him aside so she could walk past.

"You can't hide from me forever. Is he your cousin? Brother, possibly? Your skin is better than his and the shape of your head is different so I'm pretty sure you're cousins at the closest."

"Keep guessing."

"Shouldn't have said that," he muttered to no one. "Is he your chiropractor? Trash collector? Does he cook you pigs in a blanket on cold nights? Maybe he's your new… Sorry." He had stepped in front of another student in order to keep up with Cary and catch up to Bryan and Kasumi. "…tritionist." That joke works best out loud. "He books your international travel. Attends to the feminine hygiene needs of your cat."

"Gross," she mumbled. Any response at all was what Matt needed to achieve personal satisfaction and end the game.

* * *

Following lunch, Bryan complained that he wanted nothing more than to take a nap, but Matt was just as eager to check out Intro to Gaming and see what the class was all about. The title itself made the course sound like a cakewalk, but there was always a chance it would get far more complicated than expected. Considering the course was urgently recommended for all first-year students, he figured everyone in the lecture hall was likely to be a freshman.

Everyone except the lady in black, and that's not just her clothes. Obviously intent on expressing herself in a gothic way and not punished for doing so, that lady had to be the teacher. Her hair was tied off in pigtails after being dyed so black that the word didn't seem strong enough to describe the color. She wore eyeshadow and lipstick to match, plus her blouse, skirt, and boots were as dark as the eye could perceive. The only thing different was her long coat matched the same white-with-blue-trim that most of the girls wore in the female Obelisk dorm.

"You gonna give this teacher a hard time, too?" whispered Bryan as he leaned over to Matt. Then he realized that he said "hard time" in reference to a hot teacher and trilled a purring sound with his tongue.

"Real mature," said Matt.

"She looks like it from this angle." Another purr. Two in a row was enough to garner attention from a few nearby students. Two guys smirked at him like they were thinking the same thing, but a mousy girl gave him a dirty look. It was the response Matt would have expected from others.

He was fascinated to see the teacher who dressed as a Goth had the bubbliest personality when she got up in front of the class. "I'm Dr. Houtz. Some of you already know me as the headmaster of the girls' dorm, which means I'm the one who will come up with your punishment if you get caught breaking co-ed rules." No sound whatsoever came from the class in response. Matt figured the girls already knew that, and the guys were silent either because they were genuinely focused too much on their studies to care or because they were hiding their masochistic boners.

"I'm glad to have you all in my class. You will quickly notice that Duel Academy has a longstanding tradition of prejudice against Slifers. First-year girls often bypass the ire because they automatically get into Obelisk. But everyone has to start somewhere, and I am here to make sure all of you make it to the next term with a greater understanding of gaming and gamers.

"At the end of today's lecture, we will have an ice-breaker event so I can get to know each of you, but first we're going to talk about games." She activated the lecture screen. Her first slide presented images of video game screen shots, various iconic card images, and a book about how gaming can be turned into money. "Gaming is a source of power that can be harnessed for social and economic benefits. The fun part is that gaming itself doesn't often drive technological advancements, despite what you might be thinking. Duel Disks and hologram displays are impressive in the grand scheme, but history did not require them in order to make the card game popular."

She changed the slide to something about the Xerox machine. "Gaming drives the need for new technology, and then it delivers. Throughout this course, we will discuss the history of the gaming industry, types of gaming, value chain, economics, competitive rivalries, and prognosis for future development."

Now Matt raised his hand. "Will we discuss Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba?"

Dr. Houtz smiled. "Our focus will be primarily on the gaming industry as a whole, but we can't discuss dueling without some mention of _Yu-Gi-Oh! Gaming_."

"That doesn't answer my question." Bryan smirked because of the horror stories where students rarely survived backtalk to the professors.

She didn't seem angry, however. "Quite right. In fact, there is a capstone course which offers a far more granular approach to studying duel history. It covers proven facts, established timelines, and mythological entities, even including the fabled god cards. Perhaps that class would interest you the most in your third year."

Matt smirked and held her gaze for a moment. She still hadn't directly answered his question, nor indirectly. Her statement implied Yugi's story could be either factual or based on legend. But while that was technically true, all the other students felt no reluctance to come right out and say his existence is exaggerated in fairy tales. Why not Dr. Houtz, too?

"Feel better now?" asked Bryan.

"All myths are borne from partial truth. Maybe Yugi Mutou, _per se_ , never existed, but someone existed who made the Dark Magician such an icon for this game."

"And Seto Kaiba was his closest rival before he built Kaiba Corp?"

Matt grinned. "That's the best explanation as to why the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is the only card the company refused to mass produce in its original form. It's even rarer than the so-called god cards."

"Yeah, maybe," said Bryan, "but I'd much rather see a god card in real life. You think that's a real possibility?"

"If it's gonna happen anywhere, it'll be at Duel Academy," said Matt.

* * *

 **Sorry about the delay in this chapter. I have been caught up in NaNoWriMo for my second-ever attempt. If you are unfamiliar, the basic philosophy is that you spend 30 days writing a 50,000-word novel without stopping to edit or second-guess yourself. You just keep writing to get everything on paper (figuratively, if you use a word processor). I'm going to hit the word count on time, but I might not actually finish the story. I took a plot I thought was rather simple, made an outline with 22 main points. I'm apparently really bad about making my characters talk too much. Oh, well. It's a fun story for me. If anyone else is a member on the site, feel free to look me up. I use the same username.**

 **I don't know the exact time frame for my next chapter here, but my goal is always to release a chapter each month.**


	5. Study Hard

Chapter 5: Study Hard

Bryan opened the door following three sharp knocks on the three-inch wood. Standing on the other side was a large boy who looked like he spent most of his life eating one more helping at every meal than he actually needed. He wore a black tank top and blue jeans, which was not the typical Duel Academy garb but it was casual enough for the dorms.

Furrowing his brow in confusion, Bryan said, "'Sup?"

The guy gave an awkward wave. "Hi. I'm Tamah Fatu, Jr. I live in the room next door to you."

"I remember." Bryan peered past him and observed the open toilet stall and the sink with six toothbrushes resting in the holders. Tamah stood inside the shared bathroom between their two dorm rooms. "You decided to knock from here?"

"It's cold outside."

"Right, okay. What can I do for you, Fatu?" Internally, Bryan screamed at himself for using the guy's last name. It seemed so rude to use a name that so closely described his physical appearance. He wondered if pretending it never happened would keep things civil between them. Just please don't let the guy be passive-aggressive about it. Nothing is more insufferable than that.

Big Tamah debunked the passive-aggressive theory and immediately said, "My nickname is Fats. It's okay to call me that. Anyway, I saw you in my statistics class and I heard you were really smart, so I wondered if you wanted to join our study group."

Bryan stepped away from the door and pointed to the top bunk. Matt lay there with the textbook for Game Mechanics draped over his face. It was hard to tell whether he was asleep. "You're looking for that guy."

"Oh. Thanks." Fats stepped past Bryan and stood beside the bunk bed. He was almost tall enough to see into the top bunk without getting on his toes. Gently rapping on the bed frame where the top bunk met the middle bunk, he said, "Is he asleep?"

Bryan answered, "No, he's studying. Learning through osmosis."

"Diffusion!" Matt replied harshly from under the book. "Osmosis can only happen through water. This is a part of your biology class."

"Man, whatever. It's still Week 1. We don't even have our first weekend until tomorrow. I have still have, like, 30 weeks to learn it."

"Right now is Week 1 of 20. You need to learn early if you want to pass." Face still buried in the book, Matt fell silent.

Fats waited patiently for a moment, unsure what to do with so much anger floating around. "Excuse me. Sorry to bother you."

"I heard your pitch," groaned Matt. "Isn't it early to be worried about study groups? You need help building your deck, too?"

"Not really. Most people feel pretty good about their dueling skills. Statistics is hard, though. And you just snapped at the tall guy about studying early in the term. Statistics especially doesn't help to study later because the class tends to build on itself. If you don't understand means and standard deviations, you'll never figure out t-tests."

Matt pulled the textbook off his face. "Yeah, that's prescient. I can't make fun of you for that. What do you need help with?"

"Nothing right now. I get mean, median, and mode. But analysis of variance and Bayesian inference will probably be a lot easier when there's a group of people figuring it out together."

Bryan commented, "How many people are you talking about in this study group? Matt has social anxiety and won't be very useful if the group gets too large."

"Oh. Right now it's just me and four other people from our class. We tried to get someone from last year to tutor us, but the curriculum is so rough that most people who made good grades are too busy to give up that much time each week. But then a girl from our Intro to Gaming class told me that you're like a walking library and I should ask you to be in our study group."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Any chance this incredibly helpful girl had blonde hair, great yabos, and makes a lot of faces?"

"Yeah. So you know her?"

He pursed his lips and forced a nod. "Yes. When is your study group? Maybe I'll drop by."

"We're actually meeting up in the library in a half hour. No real studying yet. For now it's just a meet-and-greet where we get to know a little bit about one another and we try to map out the semester."

Matt made a face at Fats. "I thought Asians were supposed to be good at math." Bryan mouthed the word "Dude!" followed by a series of telepathic communications detailing how racist that comment was.

"I'm Samoan."

"So? Isn't that technically part of Asia?"

"I guess so. It's not that any of us thinks we can't figure it out. We just want to study together and learn it better. If you don't want to come, you don't have to."

"That's not true," said Matt. Now he aimed his menacing scowl in Bryan's direction. "I don't want to go but he's going to make me do it."

Bryan smiled back. "Forced social interaction may not be ideal, but he needs it regardless. Maybe being around other people will help him one day break this habit of being such a grouch."

Fats looked uncertainly at Bryan. "Is he going to be like this the whole time?"

"Might as well bring a trash can for him to sit in while we study." After he watched Fats offer no more response than to smile and nod, he added, "Because he's like that character from _Sesame Street_."

"I know Oscar the Grouch," said Fats. "That was just more of a 'smile and nod' joke than a 'laugh out loud' joke. Sorry."

Matt clicked his tongue and tilted his head sideways. "Aw, did he hurt your feelings? We can skip this study group and spend the time easing your wounded ego instead."

"Nice try, Grumps McGurk. You're right not to laugh, Tamah. I'll come up with a better joke next time."

"Okay." The quickness with which Fats turned away gave Bryan the distinct impression that he didn't care much, or maybe he was in a hurry to forage for more snacks. It occurred to Bryan this was the first moment he ever laid eyes on a snack-less Fats. The large guy exited through the bathroom whence he came and closed the door on his way.

Speaking from his desk in the corner of the room, the third roommate Jack said, "I can't figure out if that guy is rude for coming in through the bathroom or some kind of genius who's way above my level."

"Probably not a genius if he asked Bryan for help studying," said Matt.

"Hardy har har," said Bryan, mockingly. "Study groups are intended for communal assistance. Someone else can help me, even if I'm not the smartest in the room. Besides, he said there were a couple of girls in the group. I wonder how he got them involved."

Matt cleared his throat. "Probably by asking if they wanted to join a study group. Not to be confused with a study _grope_ , which has always been a fantasy of mine. I wonder what the probability is of that."

Bryan said, "Depends whether Kasumi is part of this study group." He purred with his tongue to help drive the innuendo.

For a moment, Matt grinned back, but then he backtracked. "Don't know what you mean. I was just making friends. Besides, she's not taking Stats this year."

"You going to start a biology study group?"

"I am one hundred percent serious when I say that I hadn't even considered that option until Fats mentioned there would be girls at his study group. Maybe I'll get together with her and Cary both and we can study a fair amount of biology together."

Bryan looked hurt. "And leave me out?"

"I'm not into foursomes."

"What makes you think Cary would go for that sort of thing?"

Matt's expression fell. "I honestly have no idea how to tell what that girl's thinking. Surprising how someone with such an expressive face is so hard to read."

Jack snickered. "That's too bad. Now you have two guys cock-blocking you." Despite the dangling modifier implied in the conversation's structure, it was clear he meant that comment for Bryan.

Bryan remembered well Jack's insistence that as a reward for winning a duel over Bryan, he deserved the opportunity to pursue whatever girl tickled his fancy—no, that sounds too sexual. To pursue whichever girl peaked his interest—better, unless "interest" is somehow a euphemism for "penis"—without interference from Bryan. There was no guarantee Bryan would even be attracted to the same girl that Jack was, but they wouldn't know until Jack singled her out.

"You figure out who Ms. Lucky is yet?"

With a finger to his chin scruff, Jack said, "Not sure yet. There are a couple of options so far, but no one who really popped out of the room at me."

"Why not just pick someone and go for it?"

"This is potential love we're talking about. I need to feel an instant connection to know it's right. Who knows how many girls on campus I haven't met yet? They turn the lights down so low during the Area Duels I can't get more than a glimpse of some, and only the backs of their heads."

Bryan nodded. "Some ladies here do have incredible curves in the backs of their heads, the way their skulls round the occipital bone and slide into the spinal column…"

"Look at that," said Matt. "You actually read the chapter on human physiology after all."

"Nah, I haven't gotten there yet. I just remember seeing the skeletal diagram in the chiropractor's office after I dislocated that vertebra during the JV Homecoming football game two years ago. I told the coach Dustin was out to get me, but did he believe me?"

"He did after you got hit hard enough for vertebral subluxation."

"Damn straight." He slipped his notebook into his backpack and fastened his Duel Academy jacket around his casual clothes—a blue t-shirt bearing the image of classic Mega Man and jeans that were officially called "faded black" but actually looked more like "white with black highlights," kind of like marble flooring. "Want to grab Tamah and head out?"

"We still have twenty-three more minutes."

Bryan shook his head. "Three benefits to derive from leaving early: One, we get to check out the library. We haven't been there yet and you practically lived at the library back home. Two, we can scope out the study rooms and maybe pick out a good one. No telling what to expect of the nerds at this school as far as camping out in the study rooms. And three, it'll give us some bonding time with Tamah so you can apologize."

Before Matt could say anything, Jack agreed. "You were fairly rude."

"Give me a break. You know how much of a strain it is when I have to be nice to people."

"Pretend he's Lindsay," said Bryan. "Or one of your brothers that you didn't hate. Or me. Pretend he's me! Wait, _don't_ pretend he's me. You're really mean to me sometimes. Pretend he's Kasumi instead."

Matt groaned. "Fine. But if I end up going home with him, it's your fault."

"At least you won't get expelled for visiting his dorm."

When the guys stepped outside into the evening chill, Fats was already closing the door to his dorm room behind him. He offered a smile and a short wave before turning away and heading toward the staircase leading to the ground level and the walkway into campus.

"Wait up, Tamah," said Bryan as he jogged a few steps to walk side-by-side with his large neighbor. It didn't work out well, however; neither boy was small or even average in width. If they pushed to stand directly abreast, they would get lodged in between the dorm's outer wall and the breezeway railing. Noticing this, Bryan allowed Fats to take the lead until they were downstairs in the open space on the sidewalk.

Trying to start the conversation amiably, Bryan said, "You're all dressed in your Academy gear now. Trying to impress someone? Maybe a girl?"

"No girls to impress right now. Maybe some time, though." Fats sounded nonchalant about it, but his cheeks brightened a bit. "Just wanted to look the part of a Duel Academy student."

Bryan understood that perspective. Not just the first, but all early impressions mattered with peers. That's why he had grabbed his Academy jacket before heading out. He slipped it on, as well, just so he could match. As for Matt… Well, he never wore any other jacket. He didn't even bring another style with him to school.

"Matt already has his eye on a girl," said Bryan, hoping that maybe making fun of his best friend mutually with Fats might foster a working relationship.

Fats replied, "I heard that from Cary, but she says she's not interested." He looked at Bryan. "It sounded weird when I thought she was talking about you." Looking in Matt's direction, he said, "It's less enigmatic now."

Bryan laughed at the idea of being turned down by Cary without even asking her out. He gave Matt a playful punch on the shoulder, which prompted a return snarl. "Did she say anything about her roommate?"

"Not with her words. But she has a very expressive face. It's almost the same thing."

"She sure does," Bryan agreed.

Matt pressed the issue, but he tried to sound uninterested in the process. "What were her actual words?" As if clarifying why it mattered, he added, "Women lie with their faces all the time. It's human nature to hide one's true emotions in order to preserve societal harmony."

Fats shook his head. "She doesn't seem like that kind of girl. The only thing she said explicitly was that she knew you were stupid smart and I should ask for help. She knew which dorm room was yours. Then she stressed that she's not interested in dating, that she only knows even that much about you because she's observant and makes a note of people who will make good rivals."

Matt smirked but chose not to say anything else out loud. Bryan assumed he was planning a way to nurture a legitimate rivalry, possibly starting off with a prank. Knowing him, it would be hilarious, harsh, and potentially get him expelled.

He decided to change the subject. "I'm glad you came up with the study group idea," said Bryan to Fats. "Sometimes when Matt explains things to me, it sounds like Greek. It'll be a great boon to me to have you guys there to help translate what he's saying."

Matt grumbled, "If Greek bothers you, math classes are not your speed."

Fats agreed. "He's right. I looked through the textbook already and there are a lot of Greek symbols used in statistics. Not as many as when I took geometry and trigonometry, but still."

"Oh, you have a wide math background already?"

"I'm seventeen but this is my first year at Duel Academy," he said. When he saw the uncomfortable look on Bryan's face, he beamed back. "Please don't feel bad for me. The situation doesn't embarrass me. I just waited a year longer than most to apply. I'm from Falefa and we don't have big tournaments there."

"Isn't that a deep-fried ball of chickpeas?" asked Matt, pretending like he was part of the conversation.

Fats chuckled, but Bryan felt flush. "Dude, you have to back off the racist jokes."

"That wasn't racist," said Fats. "Well, not to me. It was a malapropism—a word that gets mistaken for another word. Remember Ziva from _NCIS_? She did a lot of those."

Bryan felt like the writers were a bit racist with Ziva, too, but if Fats was fine with Matt's stupid joke, then he wasn't going to stir the pot. It was kind of amusing.

"Anyway, Falefa is a large village in Samoa, but not large enough for Kaiba Corp. to host any large-scale dueling tournaments there. My grandmother had to take me to Apia for nationals before I received the invitation to apply."

"Why didn't you go sooner?" asked Bryan. "I assume nationals is an annual event."

"It is." His voice softened a bit, like suddenly Fats was shy. "I wasn't too confident in my talent before that. I've dueled for most of my life, but I lost almost every single time."

Bryan actually yelped. Too invested in Fats' story, perhaps, he decided. "Yikes. That would be enough to kill anyone's confidence. What made you finally decide to battle it out with your country's other duelists?"

Fats smiled. He waved at the two duelists sitting at the duel station positioned at the Crossroads—the colloquial name for the intersection in front of Slifer Red, the harbor, and the rest of campus. A Ra student concentrated on his cards, but a Slifer at the table waved back. "The opponent who always beats me is my grandmother, Sefina Fatu. I don't know if you've heard of her."

For a second, Bryan wracked his brain only to come up short of recognition. He looked to Matt for reassurance, and Matt nodded back. "She was never a world champion but she holds one of the longest streaks of consecutive world championship appearances. It's a tournament reached only by the top thirty-two duelists in the world and she broached that threshold twenty-six times in a row, plus two more non-consecutively. Is that correct?"

"That's her," said Fats, beaming with pride.

Bryan gasped. "Wow. So when you spent your whole life losing, you were also learning from the best at the exact same time." Bryan had automatically assumed that Fats would be a lesser challenge because of his size and appearance (two things which have zero correlation with dueling prowess, but their stats class didn't cover correlations yet), but now he suddenly felt overwhelming inferiority. He lacked the benefit of dueling a champion-class duelist for practice. He hoped that maybe dueling with Matt over and over again taught him the secrets he needed to know, but the confidence waned.

"What kind of deck do you run?" asked Matt.

Fats chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, no. Until we finish the placement exams, that's my secret."

"Fair enough. How much farther to the library?"

"Haven't you been there?" Both boys shook their heads. "It's inside Duel Academy. The library is all five floors of the east sector. I'm surprised you haven't seen it yet. It's really grandiose and kinda hard to miss."

"My classes are all on the west side. Too much time spent learning the choreography for my story. No time to head over to the east side."

Bryan shook his head. "A musical reference? Really?"

"It's a classic."

Bryan was surprised to see a group of students just hanging out in front of the Duel Academy building. It wasn't insanely cold yet, but a definite chill was settling into the air. These students weren't even dueling one another or discussing deck builds: They legitimately stood around one of the stumpy posts and talked about nothing at all.

 _I guess even the smartest of nerds needs a mental break now and then,_ he thought to himself.

After entering into the spacious lobby, Fats led his neighbors toward the right-side staircase only to follow the carpeted path behind it. Bryan took note of the fichus and other plants giving color to the mahogany walls and the diamond design in the carpet. Fats ducked into a tiny alcove where he pulled open a glass door. Bryan glanced down the corridor to see the entrance to the downstairs arena was only ten yards away.

"No wonder I missed the library! I thought this door was another entrance into the basement duel arena."

"The doors in the middle go there. This door leads into the library. The door on the opposite side is where to find the faculty lounge."

Matt gave Bryan a sympathetic look before entering the library. "It makes sense you didn't figure out the entrance here. The door is well hidden and marked by this weird code." He pointed to the sign that read **Library Hours** and made a face like it was in another language.

"Shut up. You didn't know where it was, either."

The door opened into a larger room than expected for a door hidden in the corner. Rather than appearing as a closet, the library had an open floor plan where every wall on the first floor was visible from the door. A circular help desk sat right in front of the door and windows into a conference room lined the wall straight back, but as the wall rounded along the southeastern exterior of the building, labyrinthine bookshelves bent and swirled along the floor like a curved maze. Each bend offered space for a round, cushioned chair where students could read in the same spot they found a book.

"This is an awesome layout," said Bryan, "yet nowhere near as many books as I would have guessed for a library. Is that a manga section over there?"

"Yeah, the first floor has a lot of entertainment items. Young adult and fantasy over there, plus that section has a couple of movies and audiobooks. Don't expect a wide selection, though, or you'll set yourself up for disappointment. There's a reference section and periodicals room on the second floor, and then almost everything else is in the stacks up top."

Fats led the way up the winding stairs to the second floor. Suddenly it looked a lot more like a study hall with books decorating the walls. Long desks carved of exquisite wood were lined like soldiers in a parade, each with three chairs perfectly spaced out to provide comfortable work space for individuals in the process of studying. The bookshelves flanked the rows of desks, almost like jungle trees where sitting room could be found in a clearing here and there. It wasn't until Fats walked past the shelves that Bryan realized there were private rooms built into the walls. Each one bore a single desk with a computer setup and no actual privacy. Glass doors provided entry with no option to lock. The term "private room" was based solely on the comfortable human capacity.

But the private rooms were sparse. The real goal was the large study space in the middle of the reference section. Like the smaller rooms, it was guarded by a glass door without the option of closing blinds or sealing the entrance. The difference was two larger, rectangular tables pressed together offered comfortable seating capacity for twelve.

Six people were already inside the room by the time Fats opened the door. It was a curious number since Fats had stated only four people aside from him and Matt would be in attendance. All of the faces Bryan recognized from the stats class, even though he didn't remember most of their names. He knew Lei, the Hawaiian girl he met at karaoke on the cruise ship, and Mitsuro Itachu with her green bandanna was turning out to be one of those people he couldn't seem to avoid.

When they stepped into the room, Bryan was shocked to see how everyone lit up when they saw Fats smile. Each person greeted him so warmly it was like Fats was a member of the family. He had expected only to see people scowling and scared of math.

"You brought Bryan and Matt with you," said one guy Bryan didn't know. He had green hair in a long ponytail and dressed in Ra Yellow.

Fats said, "They live in the dorm room next door to me. I thought it would be nice for them to join us in studying. Matt is the one Cary told us about, Shane." The guy who had sounded almost disappointed to see Bryan and Matt nodded at the mention of her name. Fats looked around the room for a moment as everyone took a seat. "Is this everyone?"

"Looks like it," said Mitsuro. "How about we get started?" She cracked open her textbook and pulled out a spiral notebook. She obviously missed the memo about keeping the first meetup a relaxed one.

There was one older guy in the group—probably older than thirty. Bryan thought his mustache looked like a chipmunk. He said, "What if we went around the table and introduced ourselves? It will help foster communication within the group."

Fats said, "I like that idea. Since I started the group, I can go first. My name is Tamah Fatu, Jr., but I go by the name Fats. If you have any trouble remembering that…" He pulled from his backpack a bag of BBQ-flavored chips, intended to draw attention to his weight. Everyone in the room chuckled, although Bryan thought it sounded more like a nervous chuckle from people who weren't sure if laughing would be offensive.

"Throw in a fun fact about yourself," said the older guy.

Fats nodded. "Okay." He rolled up his right sleeve and revealed a tattoo on his forearm. It looked like three arrows pointing toward his wrist, resembling a super-fast-forward emblem, and a long line protruding from the back. "I have four of these spearhead tattoos from my left arm, across my back, down to here. In Polynesian culture, the spearhead represents courage and strength. They point into my drawing hand." Consensus among the bobbing heads was that his tattoos were cool, if a bit superstitious.

The next guy was the Ra student who first spoke to Fats. "I'm Shane Pricer. This is my second year at Duel Academy, and I hate statistics. The only reason I'm getting this class out of the way is the curriculum requires at least one math class. If this didn't seem so much easier than trigonometry or calculus, I wouldn't bother."

There was a brief pause before the next person realized math-phobia _was_ Shane's "fun fact" about himself.

The older guy was next. Wearing a red jacket, he said, "My name is Leon Verbeet. As you can tell, I'm older than the average Duel Academy attendee. Fact is I spent most of my life being barely passable as a duelist, but I never gave up on my dream. Just turned thirty-four and I finally hit the acceptable limit to gain Duel Academy acceptance."

Lei said, "That's really cool. What did you do for the past years while you were working on it?"

"I've enjoyed work as a radio announcer and a dueling coach. That's why I'll head straight into Duel Theory for my concentration. Grow my amateur occupation to a professional level."

Beside him sat Mitsuro. "My name is Mitsuro Itachu. This is my first year here. Most of my family has been involved with the US Navy since forever ago, and so I plan to enlist after graduation, maybe be a dueling representative for the best military branch." Short and sweet. Bryan wanted to ask her about the green bandanna, but he also didn't want to seem too pushy before they even developed a friendship.

Next in line, Lei said, "I don't have anywhere near as inspiring a story as these two. I'm Lei Keli'i from Hawaii. This is my first year but I have a sister here in her third year. Duel Academy is no stranger to me because of her stories. And I'm not sure what concentration I'll pick yet, but my sister is pursuing Competitive Dueling. Maybe either that or Card Design for me."

Number 5 in line was the man Bryan was most interested to meet. He had a gaunt face with long hair, but he wore a green jacket. "My name is Justin Nussbaum and I'm a third-year almost ready to graduate in the Duel Programming concentration. Almost all of my free time even prior to coming here was spent learning to read and program computers, and I can't wait to find a job where I get paid to improve the presentation of the duel holograms. That's my goal, anyway. Calculus was one of my favorite classes so far, but statistics is a whole other beast and so I figured I'd join Mitsuro and Fats in this study group."

Bryan pointed to him and asked, "I've seen a few other people with that on. What's with the green jacket?"

Justin smiled, but he was silent for a moment. "Of all the students at Duel Academy, those with single-digit ranks get to wear this green jacket as a way of indicating that we have the capabilities of all the other dorms combined."

Making an artistic math joke, Matt said, "Wouldn't combining the three dorm colors make you wear brown jackets?"

"That's true. But the administration decided to give us green instead. Maybe it's because Slifers never achieve this level and aren't part of the equation. Or maybe they just didn't want us walking around looking like shit." Matt smirked, and the two seemed to share a moment of mutual appreciation. It was unusual for Matt to make friends quickly, and yet didn't seem like a stretch for them to become fast friends.

Rounding out the table, Matt said, "My name is Matthew Luther, I may also go in for Duel Programming, and a fun fact about me is that I'm incredibly boring."

"Boo!" said Justin. "That's a cop out."

Matt reiterated, "There are no stories about me to tell."

Leon prompted him with, "What do you do for fun outside of school?"

"I study," said Matt. "Back home I spent sixty hours a week at the library, sometimes without them knowing about it."

"That's atypical," said Shane. "Did you hate your home life or you just can't stand knowing there are books you still haven't read?"

Bryan bit his tongue for a second, waiting to see how Matt would respond to that jab. He felt a surge of relief and pride when, instead of getting angry, Matt said nothing more than, "They have really comfy chairs."

"My turn," said Bryan, chiming in quickly to change the subject. "I'm Bryan Knight, a Leo who likes long walks on the beach and chatting up gorgeous women." He shot both Lei and Mitsuro a sexy smolder. "How you doin'?" He quickly broke out a real smile and backed off, insisting that he was just kidding. "Fun fact: I played junior varsity football for a year and varsity for two before getting accepted here. I'm six-one right now, but my mom expects I may have to update my wardrobe at least five more times before I stop growing."

"I was just thinking you look thick and tall like a bull," said Mitsuro, earning a laugh.

Bryan chuckled, too. "Seriously, I will likely go for Competitive Dueling when it's time to pick a concentration. It'll suck taking separate classes from my best friend here when we've been together so long, but I can't handle programming. Before we get started studying, I want to state unequivocally how jealous I am of that glorious mustache." He looked straight at Leon, who explained that his only trick was not to shave.

Shane chimed in again. "You run the Elemental Hero deck, don't you?"

"Yes. I love E-Heroes."

"Who doesn't?" said Shane, although he sounded insincere.

Fats sat up. "Okay, great. I'm glad everyone is here for this group. The only rule I feel like we should establish is to ask questions every time you have them. We all agree this will be a hard class and we want to help each other. No judgments here. Sound good?" General consensus was that Fats had the right idea. "Great. Why don't we take a minute to review our notes and figure out where we need to start?"

Along with the others, Bryan pulled his notebook from his bag and began leafing through the pages. It took him no time at all to find the only burning question he had. He leaned over to Matt and asked, "Why is platypi not the correct word?"

"What?"

"Dr. Apple said _platypuses_. I wrote it in my notes."

"Is that your biology notebook?"

"Yeah, I grabbed the wrong one. So what's the deal with platypi?"

Matt scowled, but he answered anyway. "Platypus is a Greek word, not Latin."

"So they don't use the _–i_ as a plural for _–us_?"

"Correct."

Shane began to chuckle. "Are you guys actually talking about biology class at a study group for statistics?"

"Is this not an all-purpose study group?" asked Matt, feigning ignorance.

Fats said, "No one else is taking biology this term."

Justin said, "I took it last year, if you need any help. But if you already know the etymology of the word platypus one week into classes, then you'll probably be fine without me."

Shane shook his head, still chuckling. "It cracks me up that you weren't invited in the first place and then you brought the wrong notebook." Lei told him not to be rude. "Not trying to be rude. But I have a new fun fact." Or a _first_ fun fact, for those keeping score. "I really want to duel against you."

"Me?" Shane nodded at Bryan, confirming it wasn't Matt who drew his attention. "When? Now?"

Shane nodded. "There's a duel arena in the basement. It's only the first week and you aren't prepared for studying anyway. What say we give it a go real quick? We can meet back up with the group after."

Fats attempted to come to Bryan's rescue. "We should really focus on the stats right now. Math, in particular, is a class where you need the foundational knowledge in order to succeed later."

"We won't be gone long," Shane insisted. The look he gave made it obvious he was pre-judging Bryan's duel ability on the absentminded way he packed for the library. With any luck, Bryan would prove to him why that way of thinking was wrong. He agreed to the duel and stood to follow Shane out of the room.

"You want me to come, too?" asked Matt.

In truth, Bryan always wanted Matt nearby. Matt was like his _Magic 8-ball_ , except shaking him up brought swear words to the surface. Even though he never asked for advice directly from the guy he taught to duel, he felt like Matt's facial expression was like a hint line all its own. As long as Matt remained calm during Bryan's duels, then he relaxed and figured he was doing okay. But he decided to play it cool instead. "Nah, it's cool. We'll just be downstairs. You stay here and lend your giant brain to the others who came prepared."

Matt groaned, "It isn't the _size_ of the brain that gives it higher processing power. Did you read any of your biology text?"

Instead of disappointing his best friend again, Bryan only gave a short wave and followed Shane downstairs to the duel arena. On the way Shane explained that Slifers wouldn't normally have access to use the Duel Academy stage after hours, but he had room access thanks to being in Ra Yellow. Obelisks could also get in using their student IDs.

"I'm excited to see how good you are," he added. "You run the E-Hero deck, right?"

"I do. Are you a fan?"

"Sure, but the deck style is too unreliable for this place. I can't make it work, anyway, but more power to you if you can actually find a way to be successful with it. I actually have a card that would go really well in your deck theme. How about we duel for it?"

"Like an ante? I thought that was against the rules except for those neighborhood duels."

" _Area duels_ ," Shane corrected him. "Tell you what. Instead of an actual ante, we'll just make it an incentive. If you win, you get the card. Otherwise, you owe me a favor sometime. Simple enough?"

And vague enough to get me in trouble, thought Bryan. But he was really curious to see what the card was. It seemed like the kind of situation where he couldn't lose too much. If the duel went in his favor, he could end up with one of a dozen support cards that would benefit his deck. Should he lose, a favor was easy to pay back. Worst case, he could just follow Shane around and wait for a chance to pick up and return something he drops in the future. At least he wasn't risking his deck.

"Okay, sure."

They reached the door to the main duel stage where any and all televised duels took place on campus. It was the most recognizable of all the rooms at Duel Academy because of how many times Bryan had seen it on TV. The most dramatic difference from every other time seeing the room was that grandstands and stadium seating were completely empty this time. It was late enough for everyone to be studying, sleeping, or eating late supper.

Shane said, "I didn't bring my Duel Disk, so is it okay if we just use the duel station?"

"Yeah, I forgot mine, too," Bryan replied, lying about his Duel Disk status. He never got one because it was absurdly expensive, and his single mom didn't make enough money for that kind of luxury purchase.

"Great. Shuffle my deck and let's get started." The two shuffled each other's decks, and then Shane prepped the duel station. The equipment itself was well maintained by the school, and so starting it up was always a simple feat. Duelists claimed their positions on opposite sides and everything was ready to go.

Bryan drew his opening hand and perused the field. It felt so weird to play recreationally in an arena of this magnitude. The edges of the room were so dark he felt isolated, and a hollow sensation clamped his gut. Hologram projectors lit along the sides of a duel station the length of a tennis court, compared with the ping-pong-sized tables he usually played on. He thought yelling would be necessary for Shane to hear him.

"I start with A Hero Lives!" he shouted.

Shane's voice emerged from the panel beside his cards. "I can hear you through the intercom, dumbass."

Bryan jumped at the suddenness of the crackling response and said, "Oh, shit. That scared me."

"Haven't you ever dueled before?"

Bryan had, in fact, dueled in an arena very similar to this one when he competed in his regional tournament back home. That was starting to feel like a lifetime ago. "It's been a while." The field continued to shine, waiting for him to resolve the effect of his spell card. "Um, I'll choose to summon Elemental Hero Blazeman (4: 1200/1800)." A man in fiery, orange armor dropped onto the field from the sky as if arriving on scene for a nick-of-time rescue.

"What that the best opening move?" asked Shane. "You flushed half your Life Points for that card."

For a moment, Bryan's heart stopped. Had he just screwed himself? But he knew the cost of the card effect before he activated it, and he had decided it was worth it.

Bryan 4000: Shane 8000.

"No, I'm good. I need Blazeman's effect to bring Polymerization to my hand. I'll fuse Blazeman with Sparkman to summon Elemental Hero The Shining (8: 2600/2100)." His monster fell into a swirl of energy, combining their life forces into a bulky hero wearing white and marked by the golden ring of power that flanked his backside like unfilled wings.

"It's your turn now."

Shane didn't speak to begin. He simply grabbed a card and dropped one straight into his spell/trap zone, which appeared on the field like a floating face-down card. "One card set, and then I use Foolish Burial." Shane searched his deck and dropped a card into the card graveyard. Bryan never got a look at it, and he forgot in the moment that he could check the monitor to see what cards exist in either graveyard.

"I summon Synchron Explorer (2: 0/700), and its effect brings back Junk Synchron (3: 1300/500)." The first monster was a squat, red machine that was shaped like a human cannon with nothing loaded inside its belly. The second emerged from the gap like a cannonball. It didn't fly far, however, landing only feet away on Shane's field. This monster was also short, but it resembled a gnome-like mechanic dressed in orange. The two machines began to resonate—vibrating at high speeds to emit a high pitch from their mechanical bodies. At first the pitches were dissonant, but they quickly found unison, and then the two machines merged into one lanky woman dressed in blue and yellow and covered in shiny lights. "They synchro summon Magical Android (5: 2400/1700)."

Bryan was familiar with synchros, but he had never gotten the hang of it for his Hero deck, so they still fascinated him. The idea of fusing two monsters into a single, more powerful creature without the use of Polymerization was something he envied. There were strengths and weaknesses to each method, sure, but synchros seemed so much more versatile.

"One more down and I end my turn." A second face-down card appeared on Shane's field. Suddenly Magical Android illuminated. All of her lights began to glow, and the energy shot into Shane. With a beep on the display monitor, his Life Points rose by 600 owing to his monster's effect.

Bryan 4000: Shane 8600.

"Well, shit," said Bryan. He hadn't counted on Shane raising his Life Points during the duel. "At least I can see why you don't need any Hero support cards in your deck. I will start my turn also with Foolish Burial. And I will send Neos to the graveyard."

"You aren't required to tell me that."

"Ah, okay. Just being neighborly. I will summon another Blazeman (4: 1200/1800) just so I can get a second Polymerization from the deck. Now I fuse Bubbleman and Burstinatrix into Elemental Hero Absolute Zero (8: 2500/2000)." Another swirling rift appeared to draw in his monsters and combine their matter into a man clad from head to toe in white armor. A cape flowed from his back, and each step frosted the floor in ice. "Now it's time to attack."

"I figured you would. I have Mirror Force ready." As The Shining released a powerful burst of light energy in the direction of Magical Android, a force field nearly imperceptible to the naked eye deflected the attack, causing it to ricochet uncontrollably and smother all three of Bryan's monsters.

Bryan gasped and then quickly tried to pretend he was unaffected by that devastating turn of events. He had expected to take a big chunk out of Shane's Life Points, not to lose all of his monsters. The only solace he took was in watching Absolute Zero explode into ice shards that struck Magical Android and took her off the field with him. Now neither duelist had any monsters.

"I will set one card and end my turn." He set Hero Signal. It was a bluff he hoped would keep him safe for another turn.

Shane wasted no time setting another card to replace his Mirror Force, and then he placed Dark Room of Nightmare. The arena walls, which were normally open to view the stands, took on a veiled appearance like a hidden room inside a temple. Bryan saw shadows dancing on the distant wall, but nothing came of it. They were just there to mess with him.

Next Shane summoned Rose, Warrior of Revenge (4: 1600/600). She bore some resemblance to the Black Widow of Avengers fame; she also had red hair and a black bodysuit intended to improve maneuverability. With a swift movement, she darted across the field, drew a sword, and sliced straight into Bryan's Life Points. He watched his numbers drop from the attack, and then they dropped a second time when a throwing knife hit him. Rose had thrown it to cover her escape back to Shane's side of the field. It dealt an extra 300 points.

When he turned, Bryan saw a giant shadow in the form of a vicious monster growling and snarling right in his face. The instant he spotted it, the shadow vanished, but not before Bryan's heart suffered a few extra beats and his Life Points likewise suffered another 300 points.

Bryan 1800: Shane 8600.

"This is not going in my favor," said Bryan. "Let's see if Fusion Recovery helps. I get back Polymerization and Blazeman. This time I summon Blazeman (4: 1200/1800) but without activating his Polymerization effect. I will, however, play Polymerization from my hand to fuse Heat and King of the Swamp into Elemental Hero Nova Master (8: 2600/2100)." Bryan's latest fusion monster bore orange armor like Blazeman's, but this time the warrior's full body was covered. The armor was marked by pointed pauldrons and a flowing cape of crimson, giving the Hero an overall look of a living flame. He couldn't wait to unleash his talents.

Suddenly the floor opened up beneath Nova Master. "Bottomless Trap Hole," said Shane, and Bryan's monster was instantly removed from the game.

"Yikes," said Bryan calmly. The game was not turning his direction, but it had been an uphill climb from the beginning. Why panic now? "I'll use Blazeman's second effect. By sending Bladedge from my deck to the graveyard, Blazeman (+2600/+1800) grows to be just as strong as Bladedge. Say goodbye to Rose (1600)."

"Goodbye," said Shane as his monster was incinerated. He didn't sound a bit fazed.

Bryan 1800: Shane 7600.

"That ends my turn."

"Great. I'll play Dark Hole." A black hole appeared in the center of the field, its gravity drawing in the only monster it could find and consuming it. "Now I summon Assault Beast (4: 1900/1200)." His monster was a humanoid wolf in cracked, bronze armor and wielding a heavy, orange mace—the ball-and-chain kind. A flail! That's the word for it. "I guess that's it." By the time the flail made contact with Bryan, he had no monsters to defend him and no traps to evade the attack.

Bryan 0: Shane 7600.

"Too bad. I had hoped the duel would be a lot closer."

Shane shut down the arena while Bryan collected his cards. He simply stood on the podium for a moment, staring blankly at the field. It wasn't until the lights shut off that he finally stepped away and followed Shane back into the Duel Academy proper.

Shane said, "I guess the Vision Heroes stay with me for now." He noticed Bryan's bothered expression and added, "Don't worry. I won't ask anything weird of you for your favor. It'll probably be something simple, like doing my homework for me or similar."

Bryan shook his head, still disbelieving how badly he was trounced. As distressing as it was to owe Shane a favor, worse anxiety weighed Bryan down. Missing one study group for statistics was nothing—it was still Week 1 out of twenty. But they were one week away from Duel Academy placement exams. He had intentionally gone to a school that trains the best of the best… and now Bryan wondered whether he really belonged.

* * *

 **Hard times for Bryan getting used to the level of his new competition. Time to buckle down and decide what he really wants for his future.**

 **Thanks go out to my readers for contributing Jack Hardy, _Titanic X_ for Mitsuro, and _Vstriker_ for Fats. I would still love to receive more characters submitted as quickly as people would like to send them. I have three blanks for current Guardian Duelers (they can't be freshmen, though!). I know the distribution for this story is lower since it's a more restrictive rating, but I don't feel comfortable lowering the rating considering what's coming down the line.**

 **Thanks for the kind words so far. I really appreciate all of you. It's a slow start as I build this world a bit stronger than I did last time (and slightly more canon, too). Expect to see a few more time jumps as the characters get into a groove and the semester becomes more routine. That will help to push things along and prevent this from becoming a 1000-chapter story.**


	6. Finding What's Hidden in Plain Sight

Chapter 6: Finding What's Hidden in Plain Sight

Matt was just about finished with the first draft for his stats final project when Bryan spoiled his train of thought. Playing a game on his computer, he said, "Mario runs from one end of the world to the other eight times per game and still can't lose the beer belly."

"What?"

Bryan laughed. "Hey, it turns out you haven't merged your consciousness completely with your paper."

"Seriously, though. Are you playing the original _Mario Bros._?" That's the only one he could think of that measured progress through eight worlds, except for the new game on Wii U, which they didn't have in the dorm.

"Yeah, I downloaded an NES emulator."

"Why?"

"It's a classic."

"It's only eight-bit graphics."

"Mutually exclusive points. How does this plumber never lose weight?"

"Those mushrooms are obviously fattening," said Matt. He turned back to the paper. Struggling with resuming his earlier thought process, he cranked out a few closing sentences that didn't feel up to the same quality as the rest of the paper but still got the point across. It would do for a first draft.

As Matt closed the computer, Bryan asked, "How far did you get?"

"Finished."

"Are you shitting me? You get a whole semester to work on that paper and you finish it before Week 2 even starts? Jesus Christ, dude."

"It's a paper for a statistics class. As long as you understand the concepts before moving on, it's all just an extension of what you've already learned. There's nothing impressive about knowing how to perform an analysis of covariance as long as you read the textbook. Maybe supplement the knowledge with some online forums."

Bryan shrugged. "Whatever. As long as you can explain it to me, I'm fine." A part of Matt hated the fact that Bryan was willing to do the bare minimum to get by when he should be working his ass off instead, but another part also liked being the smart one everybody went to for help.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

Joking, Bryan asked, "Did you order a pizza?"

"I always tell them to deliver it next door so we don't have to get up."

Matt opened the door to find Cary standing on the breezeway in her Duel Academy uniform. She winked at him. "Hey, stud. Bull around?"

"Why am I Bull?" asked Bryan from his desk.

"Because your ridiculous hairdo makes you look like you have horns." She leaned into the room to take a look around. She appeared unimpressed—nay, disgusted. "You really do have three people to a room, don't you?"

Matt said, "Yep. Our accommodations are far less than you Blues get."

"Don't envy me too much. I still have a roommate. Only the Obelisk boys get a room to themselves. Our dorm is more like Ra Yellow. Just not a large enough female student body to justify a second girls' dorm, so we all get to be Obelisks."

Bryan chimed in, "I guess the idea of co-ed dorms is ludicrous in the eyes of the school administration here."

Cary stared down Matt as she said, "They're probably worried that a boy and a girl sharing a room will make unwise decisions." Matt couldn't figure out what he did to deserve that look.

"They don't have to share rooms," continued Bryan. "But they could split the floors or even just the suites. No girls next door, for example, since we share a bathroom, but the next suite over could be girls with no problem."

Cary shrugged. "Ultra-conservative foundations, perhaps. Do you want to know why I'm here or not?"

"Isn't it just to enjoy our warm company and witty repartee?" asked Matt.

"As if." Cary was all the way in the room by then, looking from wall to wall. She leaned over to touch the bathroom wall and then reached with her other arm to how close her fingers would come to touching the other wall. If there were two of her, she could touch it while leaving all four wrists limp. "This room really is quite tiny. I'm surprised you spend so much time here."

Bryan laughed. "Matt likes to wall himself off from other people. He hates the library here, though, because it's too open. Back home, he could go early when only the volunteers were onsite, or else he could lock himself away in a private research room. The study rooms here have glass walls."

Cary smirked as if to say, "Doing something in the study rooms that requires privacy?"

Cutting her off before she could put words to her lewd expression, Matt explained, "I don't like other people to be around when I'm reading. This is the only room where I have a modicum of control how many people are nearby."

"Whatever tickles your fancy," she said. "Grab your jackets. We're headed out. Someplace plenty private for those privileged few with authorized access." She shot them both looks that implied the trip was not optional.

Both guys were baffled yet intrigued. Matt temporarily entertained the notion that she'd want a threesome, but if that were the case, they'd be better off staying in the room and putting a sock on the door. And anyway, regardless of how shapely Cary might be, he had no intention of being naked with Bryan. So for the sake of his own sanity, he assumed her goal had nothing to do with sex. Collected and fully dressed, the three exited Slifer Red.

"Where are we going?" Bryan asked as he locked the door behind them.

Cary didn't answer verbally. She only walked to the end of the breezeway and descended.

Matt answered for her, "We're going that way."

Mostly in silence, Cary led the boys down the road past the harbor and beyond Ra Yellow. It was the first time they ventured down the path beyond the main Duel Academy building. As with most of the island, foliage in the trees limited deeper visibility, but Matt could just barely make out the appearance of a blue roof in the distance.

"Are we heading to the Obelisk dorm?" he asked.

"No," said Cary. It was an unhelpful answer but it was something. At least she finally broke radio silence.

Technically, the answer should have been "yes." Even though it was not the destination, the path crossed in front of Obelisk Blue. It was three stories high in white walls across the length of the dorm, plus an extra story inside the blue roof of each tower. Many spires sprang from the top of the conical roofing. Considering the rumblings there was only room for twenty-eight students inside, Matt wondered what all the extra space was for if not housing students. If the rumors were true, they had their own gym, a pool, a pool room, and about a dozen other luxurious amenities not privately afforded to the Slifer students.

"One day," he muttered.

Bryan, unable to abate his growing curiosity, asked, "Is there a clubhouse in the trees or something?"

Cary pointed across the lake that sat in front of Obelisk Blue and into the trees on the other side. "It's kind of hidden in the south woods just past the girls' dorm."

Bryan smirked. "The girls' dorm sounds like an excellent place to study." Notice how he didn't specify the subject he'd like to study there. Not hard to guess, though.

"Only if you want to get kicked off campus," said Cary. "Dave told me about a guy who got caught in the sitting room and still got suspended. Not even in the residence: just the sitting room."

While Bryan contemplated the unfairness of being so strictly blocked from visiting the women of Duel Academy, Matt asked, "Who is Dave?"

Cary didn't answer.

"Is it the same Dave who participated in the first area duel of the year and wore a green jacket?" The memory of that duel and the ensuing conversation about family came back to Matt after he mentioned it. "That's your access, isn't it?"

"We're almost there."

After they crossed the lake bridge directly in front of the fabled Obelisk Blue, Matt caught sight of the girls' dorm hidden in the trees to his left. In some ways, it was difficult to see except that he knew to look for it. As soon as the bridge ended, the boys were back into the woods where the trees were just barely spaced enough to spot the dorm beyond another section of the lake. It was a bigger building than Obelisk Blue, surprisingly, but not as fancy. Whereas there were eight turrets in the boys' mansion, the girls' dorm was built more like a tiny castle, with a towering keep in the back and a courtyard in the middle walled-off by extended residential halls. Rumor had it the girls' dorm even had a private swimming pool despite their easy access to the lake.

"You couldn't even see much from here," said Bryan.

"Couldn't and shouldn't," said Matt with a snicker. "Probably get in trouble for that, too, depending on whether there're binoculars and popcorn involved."

Bryan shook his head in disgust. "You're a horrible person."

"And you stick with me, so what does that say about you?"

"I'm a glutton for punishment."

"Punishment is relative. I'm your lucky charm." Although Matt said that with a jocular expression, it was actually something he wondered sometimes. No matter how negative or caustic Matt was, things generally seemed to go his way. Bryan had actually felt like he benefitted from Matt's surprising luck ever since they met, with one distinct exception.

"See it yet?" asked Cary.

Peering into the woods, Matt was afraid he'd have to admit defeat until the moment he realized there was a small footpath hidden in the underbrush. The paved walkway continued to curve around the island toward the beach on the southeastern side, but the path trodden in the dirt implied something else concealed from view.

"The clubhouse idea sounds more viable by now," said Matt. He lifted a fallen tree limb to show Bryan what he had found. Cary suppressed a smile, possibly amused that Matt was getting excited about this secret or maybe even just proud of him for having the observational skills to find it without much help, although she did lead him to the spot. When he dropped the tree limb, it bounced right back into place, not detached like it was broken—just bent low enough to shield the ground.

At the end of the footpath was a small, two-story house either built from some type of limestone or a more common stone painted somewhere between a light green and a tree-bark gray. The gabled roof was painted darker green to give the whole building the general color scheme of a literal treehouse.

"Is this a dorm?" asked Matt.

Cary shrugged as if to say, "Who knows?" She was being facetious, of course, seeing how she was the navigator who brought them to this location. She walked up to the tall, double doors and knocked. Maybe she had the secret knowledge of this place, but she didn't possess the super-special access she had mentioned earlier. Matt did notice a card-reader by the door, but he suspected his student ID would have no effect on it—leastwise, not something beneficial.

Bryan said, "I thought you had access to this place."

She motioned to the card reader. "You're welcome to try."

"Yeah, right. And send some kind of electronic signal to the administrators that I'm out in the woods trying to get inside a secret clubhouse? I think not!" He could be right about the consequences of trying to access a door without proper authorization.

Shortly thereafter, the door opened to a petite girl with tanned skin, long hair, and the face of an angel. Bryan uttered, "Hello," before stepping up right beside Cary so he could get the best look at the lady's gorgeous face. Luckily for him, she chuckled at his enthusiasm.

The girl looked to Cary and smiled. "Hi. You must be Cary."

"Strickland, yes."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Erica. Who are your friends?"

Matt immediately flinched. "That's a little strong. Can we not put a label on it?"

He bemused Erica. "Which word is too strong? Friend?"

"Ignore him," said Bryan, extending a hand to take hers. He knelt in front of her and held her fingers as if to kiss her knuckles, but not actually taking that last step. It amused Matt to see that kneeling, he was only a head shorter than she was. "I'm Bryan Knight. You cannot know the depths of my praise to all that is good in this world that I was able to find you again. The level of beauty which captivated me the very instant the light kissed your skin was overwhelming, and I knew I must meet you."

For a moment Erica tried to back away from her own hand like it was radioactive, but then her horror gave way to wild laughter. Matt was pleased to hear her voice retain its musical tone. Bryan could be intense when first meeting particularly attractive women, so that interaction could easily have gone very differently.

"I'm sorry for laughing," she said. "I've been hit on before, but that was new."

"And ridiculous," agreed Cary. "Feel free to slap him around a bit. It won't bother me a bit." Plus, it'd be funny considering that if she reached as high as she could, she might just barely get to his chin.

Erica waved off the comment like it was unnecessary and Bryan relinquished her hand to her. "Come inside. Dave was waiting for you."

No sooner had Matt stepped through the door than he realized where the largest chunk of luxury accommodations went on campus. The walls were as clean as brand new, decorated with a few duel-themed tapestries, each one appearing in the style of Egyptian murals. Tables dotted the hallway with statuettes, fancy lamps, and potpourri. Looking up, he spotted a second-floor Bridgeway connecting one side of the house to the other. The end of the foyer opened directly into the dayroom, which was, on its own, as big as the entire dorm suite Matt shared with five other guys, minus the dividing walls. Couches and chairs of varied sizes and similar plushness implied that visitors were not forbidden, but they must prove invitation via being invited in by someone with front door access.

While Matt was still taking in the sights and preparing a few quips regarding the posted pictures of landscapes and monuments, he heard a toilet flush, a sink turn on and off again, and a door squeaking open as the sound of running water grew in volume.

Dave Strickland entered the dayroom with an expression of disappointment. "Dangit. I knew that would happen. I waited this whole time for you, and you show up the second I go to the bathroom."

Bryan replied, "If you gotta go, don't squeeze the Charmin." It prompted a point-and-grin from Dave, who approached Cary with open arms. She seemed reluctant to give him a return hug, but she didn't resist. "What's wrong, Cuz? Am I embarrassing you in front of the cute, freshman boys?"

"No, just these two lug nuts," she retorted.

Dave laughed at her subtle insult. "You have to be Matt and Bryan."

"Other way around," said Matt, clarifying that he was the short one and Bryan was the giant.

"Ah, right. Glad you guys could make it. Honestly, I'm glad Cary actually brought you. Considering Slifer is so far out of the way from the girl's dorm, her agreement to retrieve you shocked me. I thought she might prank you somehow."

Cary shrugged as if to say, "It could happen."

Bryan chuckled. "Don't worry about Matt. He's the Prank King. He'd spot a trick coming a mile away."

Every eye turned to Matt, but he didn't flinch. "We all did immature things when we were kids."

Under his breath, Bryan muttered, "Four months ago…" Dave smiled at the banter between the two freshmen.

Erica repeated her earlier suggestion. "Why don't you guys take a seat? Get comfortable while we get to know each other." She grinned, indicating she was fully prepared for the overly flirty wordplay Bryan was about to send her way. Her smile was quite radiant, even if she was just messing with him. Bryan plopped down on the love seat right next to her while Matt sat on the couch. Cary sat on the opposite end. Dave took a single-person armchair.

For a few minutes, nothing of substance was spoken. It was all small talk. Bryan appeared to have the time of his life, chatting while sitting beside a gorgeous senior, but small talk was never Matt's thing. He'd rather get to the point and move on. The opportunity presented itself when Dave mentioned roommates.

"The other students in the green jackets," he said, more a statement than a question. "Like Justin. Considering the timing of the invitation, I'd guess this visit was his idea."

Dave smiled broadly. "He said you were the smart one." Ignoring Bryan's "hey!" he continued, "Everyone figures out eventually why we wear green. We figured you could hear about it in person from us—save yourself the detective work."

Bryan's fake disappointment shifted quickly. "Ooo, intrigue."

"The top-ranked duelists of the school are given these green jackets and put into a group called the Guardian Duelers. Whereas you and all the other students in the school completing testing and tournaments to achieve your rank, the only way to become one of the Top 9 is by defeating the previous members before they graduate. At the end of each school year, membership is always passed on to a new duelist. If no one is strong enough to earn the jacket, the faculty vote on the successor."

"That's it? You get ranked among the Top 9 and you get to live in a secret Guardhouse in the middle of the woods with girls in the house?"

Erica stated, "Rules apply to everyone. But we're trusted with Duel Academy's reputation. It's fitting that our intelligence gets respected, too. This way all the Guardians stay together instead of splitting between dorms. Besides, all our doors have unique keys, just in case."

"Nine duelists…" Matt muttered, trying to put together the few clues he had and determine why they had to be secluded. He had noticed a fleeting expression of despair from both Dave and Erica when she mentioned splitting between dorms. If anything, that suggested the Guardhouse was a new addition. So something happened recently to change their location from common dorms to the secret dorm.

Dave watched for a moment as Matt struggled, not having enough information to make the leap. "In addition to the dorm, we get immunity from having to reapply to attend Duel Academy next year."

"We have to reapply?" Bryan shouted. He nearly jumped to his feet, jostling the cushion enough to make Erica grab the frame to stabilize herself.

Cary scoffed. "It's like academic review. If you do well enough in classes and manage to win a lot of duels, you'll be fine. They only kick out slackers, plus there are always a few dropouts. Don't let your grades slip or your dueling slack too hard."

She made it sound nice and easy, but Matt noticed the uncertainty in Bryan's eyes. He was struggling so far to prove himself among the other students. "Immunity from scrutiny is nice, though," Matt insisted.

"The downside is we are ineligible for prizes each semester," Dave added. "Which is the more valuable reward is subjective. Some people are just as willing to trade prizes for the immunity, especially if they don't care about changing the cards in their deck. But along with our immunity, we get to keep our rare cards through the summer session."

 _Rare cards_. Another clue. "How rare? Like out-of-print cards?" asked Matt.

"Rarer than that." Dave reached to his belt and retrieved his deck box, pulling from it a specific card. "Ownership of one of these cards is the same as membership to the Guardian Duelers. You've heard of the **Egyptian God Cards**?" Dave asked.

Bryan almost jumped again. "You've got to be kidding me. You have one of the most powerful cards in the entire friggin' game?" Dave nodded, so he looked to Erica for additional confirmation. She also smiled and nodded.

Dave handed his card to Matt first because he was closest. "Slifer the Sky Dragon," Matt read. It was unique, with a fully red background instead of the usual orange hue for effect monsters. There was something unsettling about it. Matt felt a chill—something ethereal. "Clearly this card is one-of-a-kind. But what's the big deal? And don't recite the effect: I can read."

Cary quickly responded to his request. "The story goes that Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba fought over the god cards constantly because of their power. There's also a rumor that they tap into dark magic and can kill anyone who loses a duel to one." She shot Matt a mocking look.

"Sounds pretty spooky when you leave out the part where they're playing card games," Bryan remarked. To Matt, he said, "I think she's making fun of you because of what you said in Dr. Houtz's class."

"I got that." He handed the card off to Cary, who immediately slid it to Bryan. As Dave's cousin, she had already seen it and was unimpressed.

Erica didn't laugh at him. With sincerity, she explained, "Yugi and Seto are urban legends, but the mythos surrounding the cards is fun to explore. Dr. Arbus has an upper-level course that goes deep into duel history and mythology, if you enjoy that kind of thing."

"I might. There are nine duelists in this house, so there are nine **Egyptian God Cards**?"

Dave said, "No. There are three: I have Slifer, Andy has Ra, and Lucy has Obelisk."

Erica chimed in. "I have a card known as a **Sacred Beast**." She showed them her card, which was yellow and titled Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. Holding the card made Matt shudder the same way. They were just cards, but he didn't like them. He decided that must be because their effects were almost unfairly powerful. Erica continued, saying, "Justin also has a **Sacred Beast** , and I'm not sure if you guys know Yul, but he also has one. Once upon a time, they were an attempt to remake the Egyptian God Cards for common play, but they ended up being one-of-a-kind just the same."

"Our other three roommates have _Jashin_ , or **Wicked Gods** ," said Dave. "The mythology describes them as evil versions of the **Egyptian God Cards**.

Bryan wasted no time in declaring, "I totally want to join."

Erica said, "You won't likely be able to. No freshman has ever gained membership. Before you even get to duel one of us, you have to be screened. Not like a drug test or personality test or anything, but the faculty still have to approve of your attempt. And like Dave said before, you'll have to be good enough to defeat one of us in a duel." She winked at Bryan, which almost made him melt. "Even if some of us seem harmless, we're pretty good with a deck."

"So why are you in hiding from the rest of campus?" asked Matt.

Bryan rolled his eyes. "Real subtle."

Footsteps moved behind the dayroom—likely nothing more than one of the roommates. Erica and Dave seemed to exchange a nervous glance, which was where Matt knew the real mystery lay. While they figured out their story, Matt craned his neck to see who walked by. She was female, wearing a Duel Academy sweatshirt and black leggings. She looked a bit top-heavy with the shirt looking like it would be two sizes too big for the average person with her head size. Considering how well it fit, especially in the chest, Matt assumed her to be overweight but balanced.

"Who is this?" he asked before Dave and Erica could answer his earlier question.

They all followed his gaze, which led to the awkward moment where one of the Guardians found herself with all ten eyes from the dayroom fixed on her. At first she flinched, but she forced a smile and walked a few steps into the room. "Hey, guys. You have company." Her accent was slightly British, yet her skin was darker than most. Matt couldn't place her nationality outright.

"Hey, Lucy." Erica led the introductions. "This is Dave's cousin Cary, and her friends Bryan and Matt."

Cary tilted her head and winced as if to say "'Friend' is too strong to describe these boneheads."

"Nice to meet you all," she said, producing an awkward wave.

Matt decided to continue the awkward feeling. "Please come join us. We were just curious why you all have luxury accommodations out in the middle of the woods in a location kept as privileged information."

Lucy tilted her head and nodded, baffled by how that conversation would entice her to sit down. Matt made the scenario even more awkward by sliding into the middle of the couch and making a big show of the space now reserved for Lucy to sit down. Cary shook her head at him without a word or change in her expression, but he was busy staring at Lucy and wouldn't have known about Cary's reaction if Bryan hadn't told him later.

Bryan immediately caught Matt's attention, attempting to communicate telepathically. It wasn't loud and clear, but it was safe to assume he wanted to know why Matt wanted to get Lucy involved when he was already flirting with Kasumi. He didn't have a good answer for that outside of, "Lucy's probably hiding giant knockers under that sweater," and he could only think to convey that with a subtle tilt of the head in her direction.

"Thanks," said Lucy. She sat on the edge of the couch at an angle where she could keep her knees as a barrier between herself and the new guy. "So if this place is privileged information, how did you get it?"

"Family," said Matt, pointing at Cary. After a silent beat passed, he added, "Also Justin invited us. He's part of our study group for Stats. We have the same sense of humor."

Now Lucy put on a bigger smile, more genuine than before. "Oh, wonderful. So it'll be like having two Justins here." Suddenly a look of recognition crossed her face. "Of course. You're the intelligent guy Justin mentioned. He said you seem to know everything about statistics already and couldn't figure out why you're in the class."

"He's not wrong," said Bryan. Pointing vigorously at Matt, he said, "That guy has already finished his final project for the semester. And he's going to be a smartass and hand it in piece by piece throughout the semester as if he's struggling to learn it just like the rest of us are."

Dave laughed. "Is that so? Maybe you should talk to your counselor about testing out of the class. That way you get course credit but you don't waste your time hearing a bunch of lectures you already understand."

Neither of the boys realized that was an option. Statistics carried such a stigma with it that the professors never thought to ask if anyone wanted to try testing out. Bryan shot Matt a look. "Please don't leave me."

Matt frowned back at him. "You have a study group. And I'll still be your roommate." Looking back to Lucy, he asked, "Can I take another class if I test out successfully?"

"Um…" She shrugged and looked to Dave for help. "You can take Stats II if that really interests you. Maybe a psychology class. Abnormal Psyc seems like a good fit." Matt smirked at her subtle joke-insult.

Dave added, "If you already know what concentration you want to pick, you can start focusing on the required curriculum for that, too."

Matt did not know which concentration he would assume. All he knew at the moment was that he wondered what Lucy looked like underneath the sweatshirt. In order to abate the social discomfort, Lucy asked a handful of superficial, icebreaker questions, which Bryan answered to avoid letting Matt overwhelm her with sarcasm. She was a junior, originally from London before her parents moved her to New York at a young age, and in charge of Obelisk the Tormentor—one of the **Egyptian God Cards**.

"Did you earn it or inherit it?" asked Matt, showing off his memory for tidbits Dave and Erica told him only minutes earlier.

"Earned it." She looked to Erica for confirmation, saying, "I think everyone here right now actually earned their god cards. Dr. Hibiki said it was the first time that ever happened, I think. With nine cards, there's always at least one person who graduated without losing it in a duel."

" _Almost_ always," said Matt.

She nodded. "Right. Maybe you _are_ too smart for the basic stats class." He winked back at her, and then he regretted it because winking is almost never sexy when a guy does it. She continued to maintain her distance from him on the couch.

The front door opened in the foyer and promptly closed. Two male voices were audible down the hallway. Either they made a habit of poking their heads into the dayroom when they walked by, or they saw someone sitting and decided to find out why because two guys walked by the door and paused long enough to look inside. Both wore their green Duel Academy jackets and carried backpacks, but that was where the physical similarities ended. One guy was white and tall with blond hair, and his friend was short with dark hair and from eastern Asia. There was a minor resemblance to Bryan and Matt between them.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late," said the white guy. That was Justin, whom they had met in class and study group. "Orientation took longer today than normal. A bunch of revised rules and regulations based on changes coming down the pipeline from Kaiba Corp." He stepped into the room and shook hands with Bryan and Matt, and then he introduced himself to Cary. "I'm Justin. Are you Dave's cousin?"

She nodded. "I'm Cary."

"Nice to meet you. Are you here with these guys?"

"I don't swing that way," she replied.

He laughed. "Funny. Have you guys met Andy?"

Andy had remained close to the doorway until that moment. He gave a short wave, but then he pointed at Matt. "Hey, you're in my biology class." Pointing at Bryan, he said, "You are, too." He pursed his lips for a second while staring at the larger of the guys. "Did I also proctor your application duel?"

Bryan blurted out, " _That's_ why you're so familiar! God, that's been driving me crazy since Monday."

Andy chuckled. "Well, it's great to see you got accepted. Elemental Heroes, right?"

"That's it."

"Wow. Congrats. How do you like it so far?"

"I kinda wish there were more girls."

Erica laughed. "Unabashed honesty. You get points for that, Freshman."

He perked up. "Ask me anything. I have tons of honesty left." She patted his arm and left it at that.

Andy said, "Sorry, everyone. I have to go." He waved again and left the dayroom.

Justin explained, "His girlfriend is about to call. They won't see each other in person until dinnertime because their schedules don't line up today. How long have you guys been here?"

"Not long," said Bryan.

Matt asked, "What orientation did you attend?"

"Duel teams," he answered.

Dave added, "The school allows students to form thematic teams and compete in intramural contests. Depending on scheduling and budgets, they even encourage interschool tournaments, although your team has to be one of the best for that to happen."

Bryan admitted that sounded cool, but Matt was already bored. "What god card do you have?"

Justin beamed. "I have Raviel, Lord of Phantasms."

Matt was silent until Erica automatically added, "It's basically the **Sacred Beast** form of Obelisk the Tormentor."

Cary asked, "Is there any chance someone wants to demonstrate their god card? Seeing it in a duel might help these guys understand the appeal a bit better."

"Of course. You want to follow me upstairs to the simulator?" Justin offered.

"What?" Bryan was tensed up like he was ready for a fight, except his eyes bulged the same as if he were ready to run away instead. "What kind of simulator?"

"Come upstairs and see."

Dave and Erica begged their leave from the group, as did Lucy, much to Matt's chagrin. But Cary stuck with the group as they left the dayroom and turned right. The stairs were almost directly beside the dayroom. Justin didn't give them the full tour on the way because he wanted to respect his roommates' privacy, but he pointed vaguely toward landmarks. The room across from the stairs (on the outside wall) was the faculty office where their advisor would sometimes hold hours. Next to that was Dave's bedroom. Back across the hall, down from the dayroom, was the kitchen and dining space. Beyond them was Andy's room. If they had gone the other way when coming out of the dayroom, they would reach the corridor between Erica's and Lucy's rooms.

On the second floor, he pointed out his own bedroom right in front of the stairs. Two rooms sat at the ends of the hall in either direction for the other four roommates. Most hallways were somewhat plain, save for the tapestries and potted plants. But the paint was fresh and scuff-free, suggesting the Guardhouse received much more meticulous janitorial attention than Slifer Red did.

Entering into Justin's room was even weirder than Matt had expected. Instead of posters with buxom women in swimsuits and hand-bras, the room was wallpapered with posters from video games and TV shows. _Final Fantasy_ and _Supernatural_ seemed to be his favorites. There were Legos everywhere in lieu of alternative decorations, such as books or pictures of family. And standing beside the desk like a hefty arcade game was a device that resembled half a duel station with a large monitor on the other side, kind of like a game of _Battleship_.

Bryan couldn't handle the excitement-slash-indignity. "You guys get your own simulator? No wonder you remain the best duelists in school!"

Justin grinned, beaming proudly at his accomplishment. "It's something I'm programming as part of a capstone project. One of the previous guys in Duel Programming actually created the basic concept for the program. I'm working on improving the functionality. Right now, the system works great, but the AI isn't really at the level you'd need to prepare yourself for strong opponents."

"Still!" Anyone could guess that Bryan wanted to steal the thing and take it back to the dorm with him. Or else he wanted to move into the clubhouse and use the simulator often. Matt was likewise impressed to see such a device developed, but he didn't care as much about getting the extra practice. What he saw was a chance to build a slightly different deck and then test it out by seeing how the machine played with it and making adjustments from there.

Justin started the computer, placed his cards into the recessed deck scanner, selected the default deck for the computer to use, and initiated the duel. Everything moved automatically on screen, first showing the image of two decks being shuffled and then providing a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors to determine who goes first. Selecting scissors, Justin beat the computer's randomly-selected paper and earned the first turn.

When Justin drew his cards into his physical hand, Matt noticed that the computer's virtual cards were turned to face the group. Its card assortment looked like a basic beatdown-style deck.

"How come you can see the other guy's cards?" asked Bryan.

Matt agreed, "It doesn't seem conducive to making yourself a stronger duelist."

Justin winced. "It's a troubleshooting thing rather than part of training. By watching the plays the computer makes, I can see where improvements are needed in decision making, plus if there's a crash from any specific card, I'll know what it was. It gives me a place to start looking in the code."

As he spoke, Justin set four of his cards and then played _Dragged Down into the Grave_. His opponent got to pick a card for him to discard, but Justin made sure he only had one card, which meant he discarded a monster called Beiige. Upon doing so, _Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World_ (4: 1600/1300) summoned itself to the field. The screen registered the card on the tabletop and summoned a virtual fiend in blue and beige to match. Matt was impressed to watch the synergy between the computer game and the card reader. It was actually like playing a card game against the computer using your own cards.

To finish _Dragged Down into the Grave_ , Justin drew a new card.

Bryan commented, "There are no battle effects here."

Justin shook his head. "Still too much to program at the moment. It took enough time to program the correct effects of all the cards, and now I'm trying to make the computer smarter. One day, when I work for Kaiba Corp., I'll have access to the effect code and I can just slide it into this one."

"You can do that?"

"Yeah. Half of this program was writing the code once and then copy-pasting it with edits later."

Justin continued to play his cards, this time activating his second _Dragged Down into the Grave_. Again, he only had a single card in his hand, so he discarded a monster called Grapha. He drew another copy of Grapha as part of _Dragged Down into the Grave_. This monster didn't summon itself, but Justin pulled Beiige back into his hand and was then able to summon the copy of _Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World_ (8: 2700/1800) that was in the graveyard. Justin flagged the end phase button to signal the computer player's turn.

As soon as the turn started and even before the computer picked up its first card, the screen asked if Justin wanted to activate a card effect. He selected "yes" and activated _Eradicator Epidemic Virus_ , dropping Grapha from the field into the graveyard as the cost for activating it. "I'm going to knock out all of the computer's spell cards," he said as he clicked the button onscreen. It wasn't a brilliant, tactical decision on his part. Since he could see the computer's cards, he knew the computer was holding four spells and only one trap.

Before the effect resolved, the computer asked him if he wanted to activate his other card effects. He did: _Mind Crush_. At his request, the effect forced the computer to discard _Chiron the Mage_. Matt couldn't help noticing that Justin wouldn't have known which card to declare if he had hidden the computer's cards from view.

With nothing left to do, the computer set one card and shifted the turn over to Justin.

To give himself a monster, Justin summoned _Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World_ (4: 1600/1300) again. To make his monster bigger, he returned Beiige to his hand to summon _Grapha,_ _Dragon Lord of Dark World_ (8: 2700/1800) from the graveyard. Instantly he had the dragon attack. The computer's trap was a _Deck Devastation Virus_ , which it couldn't activate and would offer no defense anyway. So the attack went through uncontested.

Justin 8000: AI 5300.

The computer drew a spell card, forced to discard immediately because of the lingering effect of the _Eradicator Epidemic Virus_ trap Justin played earlier. With no cards, it could make no moves and ended its turn.

Bryan laughed. "Hah, you got that stupid computer pinned!"

Justin smiled and shook his head. "I know. That's part of why I'm working to make the AI smarter."

For his turn, Justin played _Allure of Darkness_ , drawing two cards and banishing _Broww, Huntsman of Dark World_ from his hand as the cost. He summoned _Trance Archfiend_ (4: 1500/500). Trance let him discard Grapha, activating the dragon's effect and destroying the computer's face-down trap. Grapha (2700) on the field attacked again, but Justin chose not to attack with Trance.

Justin 8000: AI 2600.

"You're not going to wipe him out?" asked Bryan.

"The whole point of this exercise was to show you a god card," said Justin. Looking at Bryan, he said, "You still want to see it in action, right?"

"Of course." It was easy to see how disappointed Bryan was to realize Justin had to go easy on his opponent if he wanted to summon a god card. Even Matt had hoped summoning one of the gods would be more natural and fluid.

Once again, the AI couldn't make a play. The only card in its control was a high-level, normal monster. It ended its turn instantly.

"What do we get this time?" Justin asked as he drew his next card. He frowned. "Rats. Not yet." He played _Upstart Goblin_ , giving the AI another thousand Life Points so he could draw one more card. "Still not yet. Let's just start loading more on the field." He activated Trance's effect so he could discard Broww, Huntsman of Dark World. As a result, he got to draw a new card, which was a third Grapha. Next he summoned _Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World_ (4: 1600/1300) back to the field. Like before, he returned Beiige to his hand to summon his second _Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World_ (8: 2700/1800) from the graveyard. He landed another direct attack with Grapha and then ended his turn.

Justin 8000: AI 900.

The AI finally drew a usable card. It set _Silent Swordsman LV3_ before ending the turn.

Justin failed once more to draw Raviel. He activated _Trance Fiend_ again to discard Grapha from his hand, which destroyed the Silent Swordsman on the way. Once more, he summoned Beiige and returned it to his hand to summon the third _Grapha,_ _Dragon Lord of Dark World_ (8: 2700/1800) to the field. He skipped all battles to avoid ending the duel too soon.

"Want me to shift the cards in your deck a bit?" asked Bryan.

Justin shook his head. "You can't or else the alarm sensors will trigger a foul and auto-forfeit the duel for me. Don't worry. I'll get it soon enough."

The AI drew a spell. For good measure, Justin activated his face-down _Deck Devastation Virus_ , using one Grapha as the cost. For three turns, the AI would be unable to summon a low-level monster. With only a level-seven monster and a _Mage Power_ , the AI had no moves to make.

Matt asked, "How come you guys live secluded out here in the woods?"

"It's a security precaution," said Justin while he drew _Dark World Dealings_ , which disappointed Bryan again. "Last year someone stole all of the god cards from their owners. The cards were eventually recovered, but the admins and campus security decided to take additional measures to prevent it from happening again. So they repurposed this old storage building into a private dorm."

Cary scoffed. "That's the story Dave and Erica were too nervous to tell?"

"You caught that, too, did you?" said Matt.

Justin shook his head. "It's not that big a deal. No names were ever revealed, but the cards were returned and Dr. West assured us the perps were caught and persecuted. No one disappeared from campus since then, except for the graduating seniors, so the rumor is that someone from a visiting school lived secretly in the woods for a while so that he could steal them."

"Yeah, yeah," said Bryan. "Get to your god card already!"

 _Dark World Dealings_ let Justin and the AI each draw a card and then discard one. Bryan let out a "yeah!" when Justin finally drew Raviel. He moved all three of his fiends to the graveyard to summon _Raviel, Lord of Phantasms_ (10: 4000/4000) to the field. On the computer screen, the shape of the monster card emitted additional lightning bolts to indicate how much power the card had beyond regular monsters.

Matt stared at the card. He was uninterested in the shining picture and the ten stars lined up to indicate the card's extreme power. There was some feeling of unease he felt when he viewed the image. Then again, he could hear Lucy's voice downstairs, so maybe he was just feeling horny.

One attack was all it took for Raviel to clear out the AI's Life Points.

Justin 8000: AI 0.

Cary said, "I see what you mean about the AI. That was a little on the easy side."

"It's a work in progress," said Justin.

The grin plastered to Bryan's face couldn't have been larger if he had a coat hanger installed inside his cheeks. "That was awesome. I so totally want one of those cards. How do I get one?"

Matt chided, "Stealing won't work, apparently."

"He's right," said Justin. "You'll just have to become good enough to beat one of the gods in battle. You think you can handle that?"

"Not even kind of. But I'm willing to give it a shot."

* * *

 **Finally we bring in the first plot device of the story: God Cards. They won't take over the story like in so many anime, but it would be weird not to have any gods at all in a _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ story, right? Not only that, now we learn a few more details about the rigid life of studying required to remain at Duel Academy.**

 **Regarding OCs: I'm always accepting more for a story like this. The basic form is in my profile, and I have a longer one if you want to include a lot of details. To _Amourenvie_ : Your OC is coming. I've made notes and she has a role. It's just not time to bring her in yet. The characters I received last time are being added into my outline now and will be revealed soon. Just a reminder that I have to space out introductions so you all have time to remember a character before I throw more at you.**


	7. Loss Is the Greater Teacher

Chapter 7: Loss Is the Greater Teacher

The professors' offices were all conveniently located on the fourth floor of Duel Academy, sorted largely by academic focus. No one was adjunct professor at a school where prestige and legacy were paramount. One was either qualified to fill the role of full professor or else one was not hired; on the other hand, teaching assistants were vital to manage the workload without challenging the budget. A lounge-slash-office space was dedicated to them, as well, right next door to the office of one Sebastian Arbus, Ph.D.

Staring at the golden nameplate on the closed door, Bryan couldn't help feeling a little intimidated. "Going to the counselor's office already…" he mumbled.

Matt made a face. "It's a waste of time. I understand that you could use a round of therapy but why am I being singled out? Not like there's anything this guy can tell me I don't already know."

Bryan could have made a joke about how there are lots of things Matt doesn't know, including what the school therapist can offer him. But he was too nervous. It was bad enough that placement exams were starting the next morning. He felt lied to: Not even two _full_ weeks had passed since school started. Classes had started on a Monday, and two Fridays later marked the beginning of the placement exams. The schedule was tight in order to fit everyone's placements into a single day, but time was allotted on Saturday to finish, if necessary. Bryan hated the idea of dueling on a Saturday. It was God's day!

"Sometimes," Matt agreed, "depending on which interpretation you use." He had tried so far to cheer Bryan up, but it was all empty words falling short on a guy who had lost every single duel he attempted so far at school. Earning himself a god card was a pipe dream.

"I don't belong here," said Bryan. "I suck. I fucking suck! Everybody beats me practically with their eyes closed. That's exactly what the counselor is going to tell me in there. What the hell am I supposed to do? I don't want to go home so soon."

"Then don't," said Matt, as if it were that simple. "Just go in there, tell him what you want, and don't be intimidated. You're getting better, even when you lose. Remember what Fats said about dueling his professional duelist grandmother? It's the same thing here. You've only lost to duelists good enough to get accepted to Duel Academy. Losing to the best is nothing to be ashamed of."

"But they're assholes."

Matt smirked. "All people are assholes. It's in the human genome. Some people just hide it better for longer periods of time."

"How is that supposed to encourage me?"

"Because you perform better when you know what to expect."

The comment drew no argument. If Bryan felt better prepared against his coming opponents, he might feel more confident. But there was no time to be perfectly prepared even if he knew every single card in the opponents' decks. He was only allowed to bring in a fifteen-card side deck, which he could use to hold and swap out extra cards between duels. No tampering was allowed between duels, ultimately because everything was part of the test, including how each duelist reacted to the opponents' cards. Bryan was sick of all the subliminal tests, and that was another reason he dreaded meeting the guidance counselor.

"Is it weird how long we've stood here without knocking?"

Matt nodded. "No." But he made no move to knock instead. Matt was the type to think receiving outside guidance was a waste of time. He was only present because the word _mandatory_ appeared on his schedule beside the office number and because Bryan wanted not to go alone.

A brief rattling of the doorknob preceded the door opening. The man behind the door was between Matt and Bryan in height, looking both up and down to see either of them. He had a neutral sort of smile where the corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly without much movement in the cheeks. Crow's feet and wrinkles in his brow indicated he furrowed often, either as a contemplative man or as someone who had to stop and think about the jokes people were making before he could understand them. His sense of fashion left a little to be desired: black slacks and a blue sweater on top of a white shirt with gray tie.

"The answer is 'yes,'" he said. "It is weird that you would come to my door and stand in silence rather than knock at your appointed time." His tone suggested he was irked and British, which are almost the same thing. He nodded gently toward Matt. "Mr. Luther, if you wouldn't mind taking a seat for a few minutes while I speak with Mr. Knight."

"Take it where?" asked Matt.

Bryan expected a firestorm, but Dr. Arbus smiled instead. "Be creative."

Matt's eyes perked and he ducked into the student assistants' lounge. Bryan muttered, "That was a risky decision."

"He'll be fine. Come in and have a seat."

Dr. Arbus's office was basic as far as Bryan's eye could tell. He had the fancy office furniture and requisite bookshelves full of textbooks and periodicals that all professors seemed to have but few personal decorations. All he did post were pictures of himself with famous duelists, assorted celebrities, and a small family of people who were "interesting looking." Lots of empty wall space left the office feeling somehow empty as Bryan sat on the leather sofa. Dr. Arbus sat in his luxurious, padded computer armchair.

"I hear you are feeling apprehensive about your ability," he said.

Bryan balked. "No use prevaricating about the bush, huh?"

Dr. Arbus stared back. "Are you teasing me for being British?"

"Not intentionally. Sometimes I just quote things out of the blue. That was a show called—"

" _Wallace and Gromit_ ," said Dr. Arbus. He smiled back at Bryan's dumbfounded stare. "I, too, enjoy a good show. It was among my favorites in my youth. Quite an old show for one your age, however."

"My mom made me watch it. And then I made her watch it multiple times after that."

"As children do."

"I was thirteen." Both of them smiled, assuming Bryan's comment was a joke. He relaxed a little, and it showed in his shoulders. At least he had a small connection to his counselor.

"Let's not waste your time, Mr. Knight. I know you do not wish to be here, and so I will not mince words. How do you like Duel Academy so far?"

This was it. Bryan could either speak plainly and honestly, or he could bullshit his way into convincing Dr. Arbus that he deserved to stick around. "You know what it's like when you hear about a movie and the critics rave and your friends say it's spectacular and then you go see it and the content is so overwhelming that you feel like you don't belong?"

Dr. Arbus hummed. "You feel out of place."

"It's just a lot to take in. The professors talk really fast. Everyone is so good at dueling."

"Are you worried about keeping up?"

"Kind of. After all the years of Duel Academy's existence, I can't be the first who struggled to win against his classmates. Zero wins and twelve losses feels like a lot, though."

"You may be stressing yourself too much. Take your friend's advice. Don't give up until you decide you have finished dueling. Once you are accepted into the school, no one else can tell you when it's time to quit." He dipped his chin as if acknowledging possible wordplay. "Their words may say it, and perhaps their actions, but the decision is yours alone. What is your goal here?"

Bryan hesitated. "To become a pro duelist."

"That is three years out. Might I suggest narrowing your goal to something more immediate? At present time, your only goal is to finish just _one duel_ successfully. Placement exams begin tomorrow, correct? When the schedule releases, look only to your next duel."

A beat passed before Bryan forced a nod. "Okay. I think I can do that."

"It will be a good start. Know that I am always here if you need to talk, and that I will be rooting for your success. It would benefit the school greatly if you numbered among its future graduates." Bryan had not expected such an uplifting aphorism. And he even sounded sincere. Dr. Arbus reached into his desk.

"Thank you, sir."

He shook his head in reply. "No thanks are necessary. I am your guide through your school years."

"You're the best." Bryan felt a surge of excitement well up. "Do you have any tips for joining the Guardian Duelers?"

Dr. Arbus only smirked. "Go slower with raising your goals."

"Right. Sorry." Bryan stood and gave Dr. Arbus a firm handshake before leaving. Although he outweighed the professor by at least forty pounds, he was surprised to find the older man had a grip like vice pliers and could have cracked a wrist if he wanted to.

"Please send in Mr. Luther," he spoke after him.

As Bryan left the room, he almost bumped into Matt right outside the door. A mischievous smile was plastered to his face. "What did you do?"

"What? Nothing," said Matt, feigning innocence. "Is it my turn to meet with my demise?"

"He's not that kind of counselor," said Bryan. "Seriously, what happened?"

Matt ignored him and pushed into the office. Bryan decided he had better go to the student assistants' office to see what horrifying prank Matt left behind. Meanwhile, Matt was pleased to find Dr. Arbus's office was cleaner than most. He didn't waste time or effort applying needless decorations to the walls. A copy of his undergrad and graduate diplomas was all he needed to get his point across. Too many pictures of other people, however. If it were Matt, he would just skip meeting with celebrities and Photoshop the pictures later. Saves a lot of time.

"Mr. Luther. I hear great things about you."

"Give it time. That will pass."

Dr. Arbus smiled. "You have a sharp tongue."

"The ladies love me for it."

"Word of advice. The professors here are plenty eccentric and generally willing to allow individuality and free expression provided it doesn't harm anyone. Maybe dial it back a tad? The last thing we want is to get yourself in trouble because of a misplaced word. Is that a fair request?"

Matt paused for a second while he considered it. "I suppose. Hard for me, being nice to people."

"You feel like you don't have a lot of training?"

"Must have skipped that class growing up."

"Most learn it from their parents. But by all accounts, the Luthers were not the best role models, were they?"

Matt gritted his teeth. He said nothing.

"There were eleven children living in their household when you were accepted to Duel Academy. Your home has only three bedrooms. It must be difficult. Competing for every scrap of food, for every inch of living space, for every spoken word…"

"The old man doesn't like to hear a lot of talking."

"So you insert every stray thought of yours into conversation, is that it?"

"Not really. You'd be surprised what I hold back."

Dr. Arbus smiled. "Perhaps that's true. But Duel Academy is meant to bring out what the students hold back. I see great potential within you. That's why you received the Arbus Foundation scholarship. Represent yourself and the foundation with dignity and certitude. And on that note…" He rolled his chair back to his desk and reached into the center drawer.

Matt said, "Did you seek me out for that scholarship?"

"Yes. That's how scholarship works. We seek the most promising prospects. And offer them the means to prove themselves worthy." He handed Matt a spell card. "Considering the quality of your current deck, this card may prove useful."

He furrowed his brow at _The Eye of Timaeus_ , a card that essentially replaced fusion for the Dark Magician. "I know this card. Never found one myself. Why would you just hand me such a rarity?"

"Aside from the scholarship being intended to find promising young duelists, I find my life as a professor and philanthropist to be comfortable. My deck has changed little in recent years and I have no need to retain cards from my youth. Card storage is an insult to the deck. Cards are meant for use. Take this one and ensure it does not languish in obscurity."

Matt stared at the card for a moment, finally curling it down his wrist toward his chest. "I'll need another one. One fusion card is a start, but I'll need another one to make it more reliable."

"Then I suggest you begin researching. Find tournaments and competitions to apply where that card numbers among the prizes. Befriend collectors and make them want you to have their cards. Try to save artistic heists as a last resort."

"Duly noted. Is this… all you had to talk about with me? The whole meeting was just so you could remind me about my scholarship?"

Dr. Arbus nodded. "Unless you come to me with a specific request or issue, our conversations will largely limit themselves to the arena of Duel Academy. Represent the school and the Arbus Foundation well and there will be little to discuss."

"Fair enough." Matt stood from the chair, shot off a quick "Thanks for the card!" and left the office, closing the door behind him. The hallway was empty, but he figured Bryan was still close by. He poked his head into the student assistants' office and found his best friend staring at a Stonehenge of office desks. Desk phones and pencil boxes were bound by dozens of rubber bands. The chairs had all been disassembled briefly and reassembled with the arms interlocking. Matt looked to Bryan and asked, "Ready to go? Best we get a full night's sleep so we're prepared for a full day of dueling. Ah, who am I kidding? It's not like we're lifting heavy machinery. Let's pull an all-nighter instead."

Bryan ignored his rambling, still marveling at the office. "How did you do it?"

"Nothing here is that difficult."

"You had less than ten minutes alone."

He shrugged. "I only needed five, if that makes you feel better."

"You are absolutely insane."

"You sound just like my parents."

* * *

Cary was not caught off guard by how much Duel Academy transformed for the placement exams. The main stage in the basement was segmented into three smaller stages for the sake of volume, adorned in blues and whites. The lecture halls for Gaming AI and Game Architecture classes were opened up with small game tables, largely colored by reds and yellows. It was easy to tell where the students were favored by dormitory. Dave had warned her what to expect and where to go to find her schedule.

It was too early yet for any but the most dedicated to arrive—or those too anxious to sleep any later. Notices sent to every student about the exam schedule indicated that losses faced any duelist who arrived late to a duel. In addition, full uniform dress was required from everyone, suppressing almost all individuality in clothing. If the dress code had included any masks or face coverings, it would be impossible to tell anyone apart.

Enter Wikolia, one of the top-ranked girls already. As a third-year, she was one of the select few automatically scheduled for an appearance in the basement arena. Only the best were invited into the biggest room Duel Academy had to offer. When Cary looked up her Round 1 schedule on the digital board in the main foyer and found she was stuck in a classroom, she made it her goal to get down there.

Wikolia stood beside Cary and gazed at the board. "Facing Jeri Fleig in Round 1?" Wikolia read to her. "That should be a good match." Jeri was a second-year student who had been the highest-ranked of her class during her freshman year. Her rank still rose in her junior year, but some other girls showed greater gains over the summer and had more promising outlooks. Cary knew that Jeri would be looking for a decisive win to prove out the rank she felt she deserved.

"I'm not worried," said Cary. "Is Kazama A on the second floor?" She also pointed to the northern side of the building with her chin.

Wikolia smiled. "You got it. Good luck up there."

"You, too." In her third year, Wikolia didn't need a lot of luck. Even as a junior, she ranked higher than most of the female Obelisks. She was dating one of the Guardian Duelers, and she was nearly an even match for him in a duel. Even a loss in Round 1 wouldn't push her out of the basement arena.

Mitsuro Itachu walked by. Her green bandanna, more than anything, is what made her stand out in a room where everyone actually put on their cleanest Duel Academy dress to impress the judges. For a moment she chuckled, thinking about how Kasumi and the other girls made a big deal about hairstyles that morning, and Mitsuro just covered hers up instead. Cary had thought wearing her hair down with no embellishments was the impartial look, but maybe Mitsuro was the real queen of neutrality.

"Don't take Jeri lightly," she suggested. "A fleeting slump does not mean she's washed up yet."

Cary replied, "Who is your first opponent?"

"Matt Luther."

Smirking, she said, "Then heed your own advice."

"Every opponent gets my full attention. Anything less is an insult."

This was Cary's first real shot at proving herself, which she intended to do throughout the exam. Jeri Fleig was a good start, provided she could win. Her second opponent wouldn't be posted until Round 1 approached its end. If she beat Jeri, her opponents would get tougher. That was exactly her goal. Higher-level opponents meant a higher rank by the end of the exams.

There was nothing special about the appearance of the Kazama A lecture hall save for the embroidered banners advertising the placement exams. Several duelists checked their decks vigorously, shuffling cards in and out of their side decks. Cary tapped her secondary deck box where she, too, carried an extra fifteen cards. They offered a few precautions in case she caught wind of a strategy her current cards would struggle to beat. As much as she hated the idea of a last-minute deck freak-out, she valued the precaution.

Jeri Fleig already stood by the table, talking with Dr. Patty Dise. She was the assigned proctor for their exam. Cary had no humanities classes with her yet, but she had heard good things about the teaching style and homework load. Dr. Dise's role was to moderate the duel through all deck shuffling, keeping spectators from kibitzing to advantage either duelist, and ruling on any player violations or card effects the computer system failed to play fully and accurately.

"Hey, kid." As soon as the junior girl turned her smile on Cary, the freshman hated her for being prettier. Jeri was dark-skinned with a nearly flawless complexion. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, which looked amazing with her dreadlocks. It turned out Jeri knew a little about Cary already, despite her efforts to remain personally aloof. The downside to having fewer than thirty girls on campus and boarding them all in the same dorm was a total lack of anonymity. "Sorry you got stuck with me as your first opponent." She spoke with a British accent, which Cary also thought made her seem more exotic. Then again, Duel Academy was technically in Japan, so reality was that she was also an exotic foreigner in this world.

"I'm not sorry. Given the choice, I would rather face an opponent I can't beat. Loss is the greater teacher." Cary's words sounded a bit dry, partly through lack of practice speaking to people and mostly through the volume of mockery she hid behind her words. Jeri's reputation may precede her, but Cary had every expectation of victory. The older girl had lost a step as she went from freshman to junior… or did she only gain strength at a slower pace than her classmates? Cary suppressed a tremble in her fingers.

All of that was lost on Jeri. Perhaps it was her own ego that prevented her from detecting spoken sarcasm. Instead of responding with annoyance or anger, she grinned. "I like that philosophy, girl." Her arrogance made her pretty face seem much less threatening, and Cary felt herself relax. "Let's get started, shall we?"

"Hold on a second," said Dr. Dise, looking from her watch to the wall clock. "The schedule for today is incredibly regimented to make sure we have as few delays as possible. We want every duel complete by the end of the day, if possible. No one wants to spend Friday night wondering about finishing a test on Saturday morning."

Jeri made a face. "You're going to make us wait another six minutes when we're both already here and ready to go?"

"That was the request from on high."

"So ridiculous." The attitude didn't make her any prettier, either.

The two passed a few minutes with superficial conversation, from what classes they were each taking to their favorite professors to which boys weren't total wastes of time. The last one was a short conversation piece as neither girl was impressed with the boys they'd met on campus.

Dr. Dise ended the conversation when she said, "It's official start time now. Take your places, ladies." As the duelists loaded up on the small dueling station—essentially a two-person picnic table with holograms—Dr. Dise reminded them of the basic rules and etiquette.

Chosen randomly by the system, Cary took the first turn.

" _Pot of Duality_ ," said Cary as a fancy ewer appeared on the field. Its tin face showed off its chiseled features when Cary checked the top three cards of her deck. The ewer spun around to reveal the twisted visage of a greedy goblin as she kept one of the cards before returning the others to her deck.

"Also _Dragon Shrine_." The bones of fallen dragons sprang from the ground and formed a sort of cultish altar—a place for worshippers to gather while Cary sent a dragon from her deck to the graveyard. She let Dr. Dise shuffle her deck, and then she placed one card face-down in her spell zone.

"Your turn."

Jeri winked. "No monsters, huh? Don't worry, kid. I'm sure that Dragunity card you tossed in the graveyard won't get blocked at all by my monsters." She drew her first card and began an onslaught of cards that made Cary vow revenge.

"Let's start with Nekroz Mirror." A round mirror appeared on the field, framed in gold and horns. She dropped a monster from her hand to the grave— _Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz_. Suddenly she knew where Jeri was going to take this duel. "That gives me _Nekroz of Trishula_ (9: 2700/2000)." The monster was a winged man wearing armor forged from the remains of an ice dragon. His sword was likewise forged, with extra blades protruding from the hilt as if chiseled from a block of ice. Cary knew the Nekroz monsters. She had lost a fair few duels to them in tournaments back home. She would have to play her cards swiftly and effectively to avoid losing the very first of her placement duels.

"So Shurit acted as all the tributes for the ritual summon, but since he was a tribute for an effect, I get to move a warrior Nekroz monster to my hand from the deck. But Trishula's effect also activates when he's summoned, so I get to banish three of your cards."

Cary flipped over her face-down card. " _Breakthrough Skill_." An egg materialized on her field only to crack and crumble as a white monster burst through the shell. The crack released enough energy to shower the field and imperil Trishula, negating the effect and protecting Cary's cards.

"Okay, fine. But I still get a Nekroz monster with Shurit's effect." If Cary knew how Nekroz players worked, then Jeri was grabbing another ritual monster. Affirming that suspicion, Jeri summoned a truly gruesome monster—with ten thousand hands overtaking all other features. " _Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands_ (4: 1400/1000) lets me move a ritual card to my hand, too." She searched her deck again for another card and let the professor shuffle again. "Now _Preparation of Rites_ so I can get even more." A circular construction of stones set like tunnels appeared on the field. Robed men walked through open portals, chanting softly while a monster descended from the sky and a spell arose from the center of the circle. "Furthermore, I'll discard _Nekroz of Brionac_ to retrieve another Nekroz monster, and then I discard _Nekroz of Clausolas_ to move another spell to my hand."

The facial expression Cary offered clearly defined her opinion on the matter of overloading Jeri's hand without adding more monsters to the field. The Nekroz monsters had one severe limitation—each one had limits on which monsters could be offered up for the ritual. If she only held Nekroz monsters, then she might be stuck without another play to make.

But that didn't stop Jeri from sending her two monsters to attack Cary's empty field. With a swipe from Trishula's heavy sword and a flurry of countless palm strikes from Manju, Cary suffered more than half of her Life Points in damage on a single turn.

Cary 3900: Jeri 8000

"Your turn now, kid. Let's see what you can do with that Dragunity monster."

With a nod, Cary accepted the challenge. Her fear over facing Jeri faded as she mentally formulated the sequence of her cards.

" _Dragunity Dux_ (4: 1500/1000)." She summoned a toga-clad man dressed in armored wings and a headdress resembling the form of a falcon. He wielded a cat o' nine tails in his left hand. She reached into her graveyard and showed Jeri her _Dragunity Phalanx_ (2: 500/1100) as she equipped it to Dux. The tiny dragon curled around Dux's other arm and withdrew into its bronze armor, leaving the appearance of brass knuckles with twin spearheads as the weapon. "Phalanx summons itself." Releasing its hold on Dux's arm, Phalanx became a second monster—a dragon in bronze armor.

She sent Phalanx back to the graveyard. " _Dragunity Arma Mystletainn_ (6: 2100/1500)." The blue dragon disappeared, replaced with a taller dragon armed in yellow plated mail and brandishing a lengthy, curved blade. Cary showed Phalanx to her opponent again as the blue dragon wrapped itself around Mystletainn this time. She quickly detached _Dragunity Phalanx_ (2: 500/1100) again and summoned it as a separate monster.

Both players watched the field as Phalanx's (2) two-pronged headdress began to vibrate. The sound bounced off of Dux (4) repeatedly in varyingly dissonant tones, yet the sounds rapidly approached harmony. As soon as they reached unison, both monsters faded into sound waves and reappeared as _Dragunity Knight – Gae Dearg_ (6: 2400/800), an armored dragon rider, riding a red dragon with a long tail and a face like the blade of a kris dagger. "Gae Dearg's effect next," she said and grabbed her deck. She retrieved Zephyros the Elite and placed it in her hand. While Dr. Dise shuffled her cards, she discarded Zephyros to the grave.

Cary considered her options for a moment, and then she moved Gae Dearg and Mystletainn to the same monster zone space, overlaying them to xyz summon _Hieratic Dragon King of Atum_ (6: 2400/2100). The Dragon King had purple skin shimmering like the night sky. It provided a stark contrast with the segments of platinum armor that shone like the sun. "I activate its effect." She sent Gae Dearg to the grave and Atum's armor flashed, blinding the field. When the sunlight faded, _Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon_ (10: -0/-0) rested on the field with its metallic wings defending it like a giant shield. Atum summoned another dragon to its side, but the dragon suffered the unnatural weakness of a sunlight summoning. But when the darkness spilled from its metal body, a new portal opened, a familiar bronze face poked through. "This effect summons _Dragunity Phalanx_ (2: 500/1100) again."

Jeri took in a deep, slow breath. It was clear the length of Cary's turn annoyed her, but if she said anything out loud, she would lose "cool" points. That was fine with Cary; it meant she could continue in peace and quiet.

" _Zephyros the Elite_ (4: 1600/1000) activates." Her Red-Eyes dragon flew from the field back to her hand, spurred on by the needle-beaked Zephyros digging up from the graveyard. In that same moment, Cary lost 400 points as a result of the effect.

Cary 3500: Jeri 8000

Phalanx (2) began to ring again, and the sound ruffled Zephyros' (4) feathers until the two found unison and merged inside resonant sound waves. _Dragunity Knight – Vajrayana_ (6: 1900/1200) formed within the waves, an armored man equipped with a polearm while riding on the back of a dragon with red armor. "Phalanx again." The little, blue dragon wrapped itself around the larger mount, giving it a set of bronze claws. "And summon it," she added while the blue dragon uncoiled and took its own position on the field. "Last time. I banish it for _Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon_ (10: 2800/2400)." This time her metallic dragon appeared under a veil of shadows, giving it full power. Being of new birth, it regained its ability to open a portal into the darkness, this time bringing forth the red dragon rider Gae Dearg (6: 2400/800).

"Gae Dearg's effect gives me a second Phalanx," said Cary as she searched her deck for the card and then immediately discarded it to the grave. " _Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger_ (7: 2600/2100) over Atum," she said, overlaying the stronger xyz monster. Unlike her other dragon riders, this one appeared more mechanical than organic, each arm replaced with a jousting lance. But then she overlaid both of her Dragon Knights to summon a second copy of _Hieratic Dragon King of Atum_ (6: 2400/2100). "Effect again." She sent Gae Dearg back to the graveyard to summon _Dragunity Arma Leyvaten_ (8: 0/0), a large dragon armed in orange with feathery wings and a long, curved sword in its hand. Like the Red-Eyes before it, Atum's unnatural summoning power reduced Leyvaten's strength to zero.

"Leyvaten equips Phalanx, and then it summons itself," she said. Jeri sighed, and Cary couldn't blame her. Even she was a little bored of watching the same holographic image of Phalanx wrapping itself around another dragon monster only to separate a second later. When Phalanx (2) began to vibrate and bounce its sound waves off of Leyvaten (8), Cary smiled. It took her a long time to get here, but she was ready to summon her ace. The second both monsters faded out, a new dragon took their place. Towering over the other monsters, its fiery scales were not what drew the most attention; rather, its three heads ensnared even the staunchest of enemies.

" _Trident Dragion_ (10: 3000/2800)," said Jeri, recognizing the monster. "That's a powerful monster for a rookie."

"Being a freshman doesn't make me a rookie. Dragion destroys both my xyz monsters to gain power." All three heads filled Cary's own field with fire and lightning. The metallic armor of the Red-Eyes protected it, but Atum and Gaia Dragon were both consumed. Unlike normal fire, Dragion's attack didn't merely reduce the other to ash: It absorbed their power back into its own body. When Cary entered into her battle phase finally, all three of Dragion's heads were raring to go.

With that effect, each of Dragion's (3000) heads was available to attack. Trishula (2700) and Manju (1400) were consumed instantly as one head spewed fire and another unleashed lightning. The third head combined the two elements for a direct attack against Jeri's Life Points. The battle phase didn't end until after Red-Eyes unleashed its own wave of darkness.

Cary 3500: Jeri 300

Jeri had held her breath when _Trident Dragion_ hit the field, but Cary failed to end the duel as abruptly as it seemed. She finally took a breath and allowed her arrogant grin to find her face again. "That was a close one, kid. You almost had me."

"My turn isn't over."

Jeri sneered. "What else can you possibly do?"

"Overlay." Cary stacked both Dragion (10) and the Red-Eyes (10) to summon _Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max_ (10: 3000/3000). The metallic sheen of dragon armor transfigured into a land-based cannon with a barrel long enough to reach from one end of the field to the other. It was clearly intended to reach any target no matter its location. To prove it, Cary sent Dragion to the graveyard to activate Gustav Max's effect. The cannon aimed straight for Jeri and paused as a breeze blew by. When all conditions were clear, the cannon fired against massive recoil. The shell exploded from the barrel like a megaton bomb and slammed into Jeri with equal force. "2000 points of direct damage," said Cary.

Cary 3500: Jeri 0

The disgust on her opponent's face couldn't be hidden. First Jeri pursed her lips, then she frowned, then she sneered. "Fucking hell."

"Language," said Dr. Dise.

"Yeah," said Cary. "After all, 'Loss is the greater teacher,' right?"

Jeri was not amused this time.

* * *

Kasumi was beaming as she approached her first dueling table. Matt intercepted her hand before she could settle in for her match against a mousey girl he barely recognized from Biology class. Kasumi's skin was smooth and smelled of lavender. The thought crossed his mind to give her a classic-style kiss on the knuckles, but he decided against it, considering the crowded space. A small part of him continued to think about Lucy. If she saw it or caught wind of it, he might shut the door on that relationship before he even figured out which is the key.

"It's good to see you this morning," he said—a nice, neutral comment.

"You, too. Are you nervous about your placement duels?"

He smirked briefly before saying. "Not at all."

"Oh, you're lucky. I hate this feeling."

"Why? Being nervous is an evolutionary boon. It keeps you alert, on edge and physically ready to respond promptly and decisively."

She giggled. "That's a new way of looking at it."

Not for science, he thought to himself. The girl sitting at the table looked formidable, or at least confident. It was fair to assume everyone at Duel Academy was highly skilled. Incredible luck wouldn't last long. He wondered how well a Red-Eyes deck would hold up within the ranks. "Would you like to make a wager on this duel?"

Pr. Radican, a big man shaped like the military officer he once was, quickly chimed in. "Antes are not required for placement exams. You do not have to accept any offers and it will not affect your results."

Matt pointed out, "Not required, but you can accept whatever propositions appeal to you." He intentionally chose words that could be construed sexually, just to garner increased attention.

It worked. Kasumi's cheeks flushed. Even Pr. Radican shifted uncomfortably. "Like what?"

"If I win my duel, you have to join me for dinner. That's all."

The redness of her cheeks grew brighter. "Alright."

Matt waited a moment to hear her counteroffer. When she said nothing, he asked, "You don't want to put forth the conditions of your victory?"

She smiled coyly. "I'll let you know when I win."

Matt liked a little bit of mystery in a girl. He caught sight of a green bandanna and turned away to let Kasumi battle her tiny demon. Meanwhile, he confronted the girl who was practically a student sailor in the US Navy. At least that was the reputation she had going for her.

Mitsuro greeted him with a nod and a handshake. "Dark Magician versus the US Navy."

Pressing his fingers to his forehead, Matt said a la _Jeopardy!_ , "What is the fanfiction that shattered money markets and piled all the world's money into a single money bin." He paused. "Or maybe that was _Spaceballs 2_."

"Funny guy. You're ready then? Need more fawning time with the girls?"

"You don't seem like the type."

"I wasn't offering. My only goal right now is to be the best student, duelist, and sailor I can be. I'm not looking for a boy—not the way you're thinking, anyway."

"Ooo. Intrigue."

"Never mind. Let's get started." She ignored his follow-up commentary and asked Dr. Kerr—the Slifer headmaster and proctor for their duel—about the duel setup. Mitsuro carried a Duel Disk on her arm, but it wasn't a standard device that was mass-produced by Kaiba Corp. It was long and steel gray, with edges less beveled than usual, instead resembling the hull of a ship. The clasps that attached to her arm were like the masts and bridge of a warship.

"Is that a naval destroyer on your arm?" asked Matt. He winced at how odd his question sounded.

Dr. Kerr explained, "Because Duel Disks are less reliable equipment and these exams are vital for your placement, they are disallowed except under rare circumstances."

"I remembered the notice after I arrived," said Mitsuro. "There wasn't time to return to my room to stow it securely." Dr. Kerr agreed there was no problem with Mitsuro keeping her Duel Disk nearby while they used the more reliable duel station.

"Given the inconvenience of being forced to duel old-school," said Matt, "why don't you start us off?"

"Are you being chivalrous or just reading the duel monitor?" The screen attached to the table clearly indicated Mitsuro was selected to go first.

"Both. Either."

She shook her head at him. In a swift move, she set two face-down cards and a monster in defense mode. With a wave of her hand, she gave the turn over to Matt.

"A quiet duel? I'm not sure I can handle that." He placed _E – Emergency Call_ on the field and said, "Why would you bring a Duel Disk to an event which the calendar event clearly marked as 'no Duel Disks'?"

"Force of habit," she said as she activated Naval Assault. Three ships appeared on the field, so tiny they were either Micro Machines, or forced perspective intended them to be distant. Each of them unleashed two underwater torpedoes and two aerial rockets, ending in a massive explosion atop the green E. Matt's card shattered and deactivated.

Instead of ask about it, Matt drew his own conclusions. Mitsuro's card was unique to his eye, but that wasn't saying much. There were so many thousands of different cards out there that it wouldn't be long before there were millions. He could figure out what she was doing by reading the card effects on the monitor, but it was safe to assume her deck was Navy-based.

He placed _Skilled Dark Magician_ (4: 1900/1700) on the field. The card generated a holographic spell caster wearing a hooded, black cloak with shoulder guards so big that his entire body was shielded in shadow. "You're saying you run on auto-pilot in the morning? Is a heavy, clunky bangle a natural aspect of your personal fashion?" The Magician swung his rod and released a chain of lightning that struck Mitsuro's monster. Flashes of light revealed her card to be a _Tankship_ (2: 0/1400): long and with a flat deck. Two smaller vessels fled the flaming deck and separated as two _Tanker Tokens_ (1: 500/500).

"I just missed that part of the message," said Mitsuro. "Why is that such a big deal?"

Matt set two cards. "Because I think there was more to it than that." He nodded, indicating the turn moved to her side.

"Do tell." She sent away one of her Tokens to summon _Destroyer Class – USS Guardian_ (6: 2400/2500). The ship was steel gray like her Duel Disk, with a towering mast and many hidden armaments ready to deployed at a moment's notice.

Matt immediately chained _Eternal Soul_ with the goal of moving _Thousand Knives_ to his hand. His ace monolith rose from the ground and shone with the etching of a Dark Magician.

Mitsuro activated _Coastal Defense_. Her ships strafed the field so that most of the weapons faced Matt as they unleashed every missile and torpedo they had in the direction of Matt's trap card. While the obsidian monolith was not destroyed, the energy coursing through it was disrupted and wouldn't activate.

Not only that, the tiny little _Tanker Token_ (+2400) had grown to match the power of the bigger ship. What was once an escape pod now got its revenge on _Skilled Dark Magician_ (1900) by unleashing its full force back in his direction. After Matt's defense disintegrated, USS Guardian (2400) released a full volley of rockets straight into his Life Points.

Matt 5100: Mitsuro 8000

Matt flinched from that whole exchange. He had no idea what these cards were, but the Navy wannabe seemed to know how to use them. More than flustered, he felt confused—like he might have missed something and couldn't fathom what just happened. He placed one card face-down and pretended nothing had rattled him.

"Wearing a Duel Disk is a mind game for you." His _Eternal Soul_ monolith shone brightly and granted him _Dark Magic Attack_ from his deck. He signaled for Mitsuro to take her turn.

"Is that right?"

"What better way is there to get into your opponent's head right from the start? You wear that, they know you're a serious duelist. Everyone here is good, but not everyone has the resources to obtain a Duel Disk in their freshman year. Not only that, yours is clearly a special edition of some kind."

Mitsuro ignored him for a moment to make her move. She played _Light Assault Ship_ (2: 1300/1600) and added to her military might a thin-hulled ship with a flat deck loaded down by jet fighters, like an aircraft carrier. She moved her Token (500) to defense mode.

"It's a hand-me-down from my brother." She pressed a button and watched the volley of attacks from USS Guardian (2400) rain down on Matt, followed by a swarm of jet fighters scrambling from Light Assault (1300) to hit him with another barrage.

Matt 1400: Mitsuro 8000

As his monolith shone again, Matt said, "That's an expensive hand-me-down. Also not a word typically used by those of Japanese culture. I've read they prefer to see family heirlooms." He claimed _Thousand Knives_ this time with his trap card's effect.

She waved for him to take his turn.

He tossed _Elemental Hero Prisma_ (4: 1700/1100) onto the field. The warrior's armor shimmered and refracted light like a prismatic gemstone. As Matt revealed Dark Paladin among his fusion cards to activate Prisma's effect, he said, "No reply. So I'm guessing your brother died." Prisma's armor showed the refracted image of Dark Magician as the card went to the graveyard.

"He's not dead," said Mitsuro a bit too emphatically.

Matt nodded once. "My mistake." Her objection was too quick and ardent to be thought out. Clearly she was in denial about her brother's fate. Possibly she resisted the conclusion because a body was never found; however slight, the chance existed that her brother really was alive somewhere. He shook it off for now and continued to play.

With _Thousand Knives_ , the sky filled with the glint of falling blades that rained down on top of the _Tanker Token_ , shredding it and removing it from the field. Next, Prisma built a ball of black magic in its hand, blasting Mitsuro's backfield with _Dark Magic Attack_ and wiping out her face-down cards.

"Let's bring out the _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100)," he said, watching the energy from his _Eternal Soul_ materialize into the spell caster with the purple robes. He waved his fingers at the field, inputting commands into the duel station at the same time. In an instant, _Dark Magician_ (2500) blasted a heavy spell at her _Destroyer Class – USS Guardian_ (2400) and sank the warship. Following that, Prisma (1700) flew across the field and thrust its arm through the _Light Assault Ship_ (1300), clearing the field.

Matt 1400: Mitsuro 7500

Matt decided to give Mitsuro one more moment of silent peace before saying anything else. She set a monster in defense mode, and he promised to end the duel by using _Eternal Soul_ to move another copy of _Thousand Knives_ to his hand.

As he drew, he said, "Back on the topic of your Duel Disk: Why do you use it if it's unique? Don't you worry about damaging it?" While he asked, he used Prisma's effect to send a second _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) to the graveyard, followed quickly by using _Eternal Soul_ to bring it to the field.

"I represent the US Navy in the duel arena."

"Really?"

Mitsuro blushed. Grumbling, she clarified, "I _will_ … when I graduate from here. This Duel Disk is a statement of that goal to me and to everyone else." She fell silent for a moment while Matt traded Prisma for _Dark Magician Girl_ (6: 2000/1700), but she couldn't help muttering, "I won't put it down until my brother is here again to pick it back up."

"I see." _Thousand Knives_ rained down on Mitsuro's defense monster, leaving her field wide open for an attack by each of his three magicians. The field rocked with each explosion of dark magic, but the duel was not over.

Matt 1400: Misturo 500

She stared at her deck for a moment before finally drawing her card. Actually, it would be more accurate to say she looked _through_ her deck. Matt had not intended to play mind games with her during this duel. It was a sincere line of questioning that had gone slightly off the rails. But hang on. Mitsuro wasn't that weak. He hadn't gotten into her head exactly: She finally stopped to consider how she was approaching the duel. Maybe it was the first time she verbalized her goal to another person.

When Mitsuro finally grabbed her next card, she put her hand down in front of her and triggered the five buttons that surrounded the deck. By pressing all of them at once, she signaled to the internal system that she was forfeiting the remainder of the duel. Most likely she had not drawn a card that could dig her out of the hole where she faced three Dark Magicians. Matt accepted her surrender and shook her hand.

"Dreams are good," he said, "but don't let reality get dragged underfoot."

She said nothing as she grabbed her cards and Duel Disk and walked away. Matt remarked to Dr. Dise, "I made a lifelong friend right there."

Dr. Dise stared blankly for a second and, maintaining her professionalism, did not make the sarcastic comment that came to her mind. All she said was, "Okay."

Matt appreciated her conflicted position and gave her an out by excusing himself. Kasumi's duel was wrapping up as well. She had a long expression on her face, implying she did not achieve the outcome she had hoped for. Matt figured that gave him the edge on their bet since he won and she didn't.

"When do you want to get dinner?"

Blushing, Kasumi looked at the clock. It was only nine-fifteen. "It's really early," she said.

Matt started to say, "That's not what I asked," but he was interrupted.

She finished the sentence with "and I need to review my deck, maybe swap out some cards from my side deck."

"Side deck?" he repeated.

She nodded. "The fifteen extra cards we're allowed to use between rounds to adjust our decks. You didn't bring one?"

"No. If my deck isn't ready already, I wouldn't even know how to change it."

Kasumi smiled. "I wish I had your confidence. Good luck with your next duel." She patted him on the arm, a move that felt decidedly un-flirty from Matt's perspective. He gave a return nod and watched her skirt flick while she walked away. At least that part was fun.

From another table nearby, one of the Ra guys Matt knew from Biology leaned back in his seat and laughed. "Looks like she shot you down, Valentino," said Joel.

He rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Shut up, Jerry Clower."

"Who?"

Matt growled in frustration as he turned away. He hated it when other people didn't get his references. Maybe Bryan had something interesting going on in the other room.

* * *

Bryan was pleasantly surprised to find his first opponent was Fats. It was nice to see a familiar face with a body wearing the same color jacket he did, even if it was a size bigger and on a shorter guy. Fats had a smile on his face and a Cheeto on his lips, his fingers dusted orange every time he reached into the bag for more.

"Good to see you, Tamah," he said aloud. He opted for a pat on the shoulder to avoid the awkward moment of being unwilling to shake his sunshine-flavored hand. "Which room are we supposed to be in? This one looks full." Indeed, all three duel tables were occupied by a duel-in-progress.

Dr. Arbus approached, wearing his black jacket open at the top to reveal his white tuxedo shirt and black bowtie underneath. It's like he had to abide by the school uniform but wanted to go to the prom right after. "My apologies, gentlemen," he said, "but we are behind schedule. Some of the duels are running longer than anticipated."

"That's cool. Do we just wait?" asked Fats.

"No, I was asked to ensure everyone continues to duel at their scheduled appointment as much as possible. Neither of you has a Duel Disk?" Both boys shook their heads. He motioned them toward a regular lecture hall desk. "It will not meet the standard level of technology here but it is sufficient for the completion of a duel."

Bryan and Fats each dragged a chair to opposite sides of the desk. It felt so tiny compared with the regular duel stations. Bryan could see every pore on Fats' face. "Cozy," he remarked.

"Could be worse," said Fats, producing his deck. "Are you our proctor?"

Dr. Arbus nodded. "You may shuffle each other's decks; however, if you do not feel comfortable with that, I will shuffle for you."

Each duelist made a face, half-shrugged, and shook their heads, overall implying they foresaw no issue with trading decks to shuffle and start the game. As they placed cards along the imaginary field that occupied the entire space of the deck, Bryan held out his fist.

"Rock-Paper-Scissors?"

"Sure."

" _On_ three, or three _then_ go?"

"Always _on_ three. It's faster that way."

On the count of three, Bryan threw _scissors_ and watched Fats throw _paper_. Bryan laughed and claimed the first turn. "Aw, man. I thought you'd be one of those tough guys who always starts with _rock_ ," said Fats.

"That's what everybody thinks. I'm starting to feel typecast." He looked disappointed for a fleeting moment. "Oh well. First I draw, and then I summon _Elemental Hero Blazeman_ (4: 1200/1800)." He looked at the card, which although shiny, did not come to life on the desktop. "I already miss the holograms." He looked to Dr. Arbus. "What if a table becomes available?"

"We can see about moving to it as long as another duel is not yet scheduled."

"Cool. Anyway, Blazeman's ability lets me pull _Polymerization_ to my hand." He searched his deck for the card, placed it in his hand, and then offered his deck back to Fats to shuffle.

"It's cool. You can shuffle it."

Surprised by how much faith Fats had in him, Bryan shuffled his own deck to make sure everything was not necessarily in the same order as when he saw all the cards just then. Finally, he placed his deck back in position. "I'll play _Polymerization_ now to fuse Prisma and Blazeman into _Elemental Hero Nova Master_ (8: 2600/2100)." Again, his shiny and fiery monster failed to illuminate the desk. "I guess that ends my turn."

Fats looked through his cards. "I'll play _Upstart Goblin_ first. This card lets me draw another card, plus it gives you 1000 Life Points."

"I know what it does."

"Oh, sorry. Shane warned me you didn't know much about this game and said I might have to walk you through some of the card effects."

Bryan growled and shook his fist. That Ra Yellow guy didn't just settle for stomping Bryan in their duel: He also had to be a dick about it. "I assure you he's just over-boasting about his win against me. If I have a question about your card, I'll ask, but I'm fairly knowledgeable here."

"Okay, cool. I'm just going to set a monster in defense mode and one other card face-down. That ends my turn."

Bryan 9000: Fats 8000

"Great," said Bryan. "Because I'm going to play _Miracle Fusion_. This fuses Blazeman and Prisma once again, but this time by banishing them from my graveyard, and this time to summon _Elemental Hero The Shining_ (8: 2600/2100)." Now he had a shiny, white card that didn't glow or come to life. "Keep in mind this guy gains 300 attack points for each of my banished Heroes. Still, I'll start my battle phase by attacking your monster with Nova Master (2600)."

Less than dramatic, Bryan pointed from his card to Fats' card. Fats flipped it over to reveal _Naturia Cliff_ (4: 1500/1000). "When this card goes to the graveyard, I can summon another Naturia monster from my deck." Now it was Fats' turn to search his deck for a monster card. He placed a second copy of _Naturia Cliff_ (4: 1500/1000); owing to Cliff's summoning effect, the second monster was in attack mode.

Like Bryan did before, Fats offered his deck back to Bryan for reshuffling. Bryan's first instinct was to grab it and shuffle just in case Fats was setting him up, but he decided to have faith in his suitemate. After all, Fats believed in him before.

Or did Fats just not care because he had already stacked the deck to win no matter what Bryan tried?

No! Better to have faith in people than to assume everyone has an ulterior motive.

Bryan tapped the deck. "You shuffle it."

His act of generosity seemed to roll right off Fats. His reply was simply to shrug and say, "Okay." Maybe Bryan had hoped for a smile or some form of gratitude, but the duel rolled on without it.

"When Nova Master destroys a monster, I draw a card." Bryan lifted his next card and smirked. _Mystical Space Typhoon_ was useful, maybe even on the face-down card Fats already set. Then again, he didn't activate it the first time, so maybe there was no real risk in another attack. The question was how high the risk was in activating Cliff's effect a second time. He only considered it for a second before deciding to attack with The Shining. Cliff's effect was easy to use—it only needed to leave the field. Better to force the activation and deal some damage along the way. "That's, uh… 1700 points of damage to you."

Bryan 9000: Fats 6300

"Yep. And I get to summon my third _Naturia Cliff_ (4: 1500/1000) from my deck." He searched for the card and placed it down. Once again, Bryan decided to let Fats shuffle his own cards.

Now seemed like the right time to go after that face-down card. "Since I have no more attacks, I'll play _Mystical Space Typhoon_ to destroy your face-down card."

"I'll chain that card's activation," said Fats as he flipped his card. It was _Call of the Haunted_ , a rare card that had been around long enough to be reprinted and made significantly less rare than its initial printing. "I summon Cliff (1500) back from the graveyard."

Bryan was bemused by the play. "But my spell destroys your card. And destroying Call means your monster… goes back to the graveyard. So you get another Naturia monster."

"Exactly. I summon _Naturia Cherries_ (1: 200/200)." Bryan hadn't seen that card before. Each of the cherries had a cute face, but the poor things were like Siamese twins, conjoined at the stem. He took a moment to read the card effect and realized that destroying it would summon two more. Fats had a thing for flooding his field with monsters.

"Well, I guess my turn is done," said Bryan.

"Okay. Sorry about this."

Narrowing his eyes, Bryan asked, "Sorry about what?"

"I summon _Naturia Mosquito_ (1: 200/300). Do you know that one?"

Bryan peered at the colorful image on the card, completely oblivious. "Not to support Shane Pricer in any way, but let's pretend I don't."

"Don't worry about it. As long as this monster is on the field, all my battle damage goes to you instead. Well, not _all_ battle damage, but damage involving Naturia monsters, which is all the monsters in my deck. Make sense?"

"Yes," said Bryan, regretting the fact that The Shining (+3200) was still the strongest monster on the desk.

"I'll also play _United We Stand_ and equip it to The Shining." Fats placed a card that was just like Call of the Haunted in its rarity being reduced by reprinting, but he held an original edition in his hand. He may have received it from his grandmother.

Bryan did some mental math. "Okay, so your monster has…"

"No, I equipped it to _your_ monster. I want The Shining to be 1600 points stronger when I attack."

At first Bryan was confused, but then he figured it out. "Ah, okay. _United We Stand_ increases his points by 800 per monster, and if you suicide your cards, _Naturia Moquito_ means I'll take the damage instead. That's clever."

Dr. Arbus stepped closer. "Pardon, gentlemen. The Shining gains 2400 points. The card Mr. Fatu played bases the increase on the number of monsters _he_ controls. The effect of the equip card does not follow its equipped monster."

Fats said, "Oh, yeah. Yeah, so I'll have Cliff (1500) attack The Shining (+5400)." He moved his card across the desk toward the target monster and then shifted it to the graveyard because of its near infantile comparative strength. "You take 3900 points of damage for that, plus I get to summon another _Naturia Cherries_ (1: 200/200)."

Bryan 5100: Fats 6300

"I still have three monsters, so your power boost is still 2400. And now Cherries (200) will attack The Shining (5400)." He stopped to think for a second. "I guess that ends the duel. Is that right, Dr. Arbus?"

As if he had to ask, Bryan thought.

Bryan 0: Fats 6300

Fats offered a handshake. "Sorry to hit you so hard. I wasn't expecting it to be a one-turn kind of thing."

Putting on the biggest grin he could muster, Bryan said, "Don't worry about it. You played a kick-ass duel. How could I expect to compete with the grandson of a world champion?"

On that note: How could he expect to compete with anyone at all?

* * *

 **I really didn't want to have the placement exams last so long, but I was eager to show the changes among my three big characters between each of the rounds and use all their duels to facilitate future development. Seeing as this chapter alone came just shy of 10k words, placements will likely last for three chapters. I'll cycle different characters through as logic allows but the story will gain speed after the exams.**

 **Thanks go to all readers who contributed OCs, including _Titanic X_ for Mitsuro and _VStriker_ for Tamah/Fats. I didn't name her, but Kasumi's first opponent was contributed by _Amourenvie_ \- but more on her later. I will continue accepting new OCs for the foreseeable future, for those interested.**


	8. Better Off Lucky Than Good

Chapter 8: Better Off Lucky Than Good

Bryan gathered his cards after a rather humiliating and sudden loss to Fats and his Naturia Mosquito. The fact that they had to duel on a classroom desk instead of the electronic duel tables was pitiful. The proctor had offered them a chance to move their duel to a holographic table as soon as one was made available, but the duel was over so quickly that the option was moot. Bryan never even put up a real fight.

Should he even bother dueling in the second round? Maybe he'd be just as well off disappearing back to the dorm and hiding out for the rest of the day. Two automatic forfeits would leave him with a dismal rank, but would losing in a duel be any better for him or his pride?

He missed his window to slip away. A girl gently tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey. Bryan, right?" He didn't recognize her face straight away, but the green Duel Academy jacket narrowed down the name list quickly. The fact that it looked to be the size of a circus tent is what really struck his memory.

"Oh, hey. Um…" She was plenty cute, with a round face and a complexion holding up well against teenage acne. Obviously she was one of the Guardian Duelers and he had met her before, but he blanked on her name.

"Lucy."

"Right. I'm sorry. Terrible with names."

She forced a smile that, frankly, looked a bit disingenuous. "Don't worry. There are a lot of people at school here. It's tough to remember all the names. How are you?"

He smiled back, making sure his grin looked more sincere than hers did. "I'm good. Feeling a bit overwhelmed about all this."

Her smile grew brighter as sympathy entered into her eyes. "I remember what it was like last year. The one true advantage to being a Guardian is I don't miss the commotion."

"Don't you also have Obelisk the Tormentor in your deck? That's a pretty sweet benefit." Maybe having a god card in his deck would give Bryan a decent showing at just one of his official duels; however, it'd be impossible for him to earn one at this rate.

Lucy reacted as if she had been punched in the gut. Bryan figured she was just as shy about her deck as she was about her body. "Sometimes it's nice knowing I have a true, one-of-a-kind card that's unique to the world. The effect on a duel is kind of rare since I don't get to summon it all the time, but as far as ace monsters go, it is pretty much unstoppable. You're not wrong about the benefit. How did your first duel go?"

Bryan had hoped she wouldn't ask. Finally he sucked in his wounded pride and said, "I lost. One turn, too, so it was painfully one-sided."

"Aw, don't worry about it. One-turn kills are factored into your score because they can be so hard to defend against. If you do well in your next two duels, you could still place well."

"Thanks for the boost, but I don't see that happening." He waffled between wanting to give a blanket statement about everyone on campus being a strong duelist and wallowing in self-pity for a moment. The decision was taken away from him when Matt finally found him. Three other Guardians followed close behind, stepping aside for a moment to speak to someone they knew in the corner of the room.

"Hey, bro. Long time, no see."

Bryan chuckled. "Yeah, it must have been an hour already. How was your duel?"

"Asserted my dominance over the US Navy. Pretty sure that makes me the president now. Any luck on your end?"

"Yeah, _bad_ luck. I lost to Fats."

Matt said, "Well, you already know he learned to duel from his champion grandmother, so that's nothing to be ashamed of." Lucy had started to back away when Matt quickly focused his attention on her. "Good morning, Lucy. It's a pleasure to see you again." Sometimes when he tried too hard to sound sincere, it came across as sarcastic. Bryan felt like this was one of those times.

"Hi, Matt," she said, shaking his hand briefly. "Off to a good start with the exams?"

"So far, so good," he said. "What brings you around today? If I remember correctly, you are exempt from this dog-and-pony show by virtue of being a Guardian Dueler. Your worth has been proven already."

"You remember right. I'm here because all of us help out school functions like this."

"That's great. Do you know anything about the ranking algorithm or how the results are calculated?"

"Nothing that detailed. I've assisted in proctoring two duels so far."

At the same moment Matt said "Were they exciting?" Justin turned around from the conversation he and the others had behind Matt. "What was that about the ranking algorithm?"

Lucy answered, "Matt was curious about it."

Justin's eyes were lit like a Christmas tree, or perhaps more like the kid who was busy tearing into the boxes underneath the tree. "It's completely adaptive. There's a reason you didn't have all three rounds scheduled right off the bat. When everyone finishes the first round, all the results are thrown into a formula so the computer can match everyone against someone who, so far, has shown equal skill. You won your first duel, right? So the next duel will be a stronger opponent."

"Cool. How much stronger?" Matt was intrigued.

"Depends on the result of the formula. Other variables include Life Points, how many turns it took, misplays, panic—which is like your ability to respond when overpowered—and coordination. There are probably more variables, too. It's so tightly protected that probably no one knows the whole formula anymore."

Lucy looked at her phone. "I have to go. It was good to see you guys, though. Good luck in the next round." She gave a little wave before walking away. Bryan noticed how intently Matt stared but chose not to say anything in front of Justin and the others.

"You scared off Lucy?" asked Dave. He and Andy had finally finished their other conversation.

Matt, still eyeing her across the room even though she was frequently hidden behind other bodies, asked, "What's her story?"

Andy jeered and pressed his fist to Matt's shoulder. "Oh, got a thing for her, do you?"

"Absolutely, I do. To be specific, I would like to see her naked."

Bryan figured a line that blunt meant it was fair to tease him. "Looking to give away your V-card finally?"

"Come Valentine's Day I will give her as many cards as she wants."

Bryan rolled his eyes. "You know that means 'virginity.'"

"I gave that away already."

"Oh, yeah?" he asked doubtfully. "To who?"

"To _whom_ ," said Dave, correcting his grammar. Bryan drolly thanked him for the help, mentally thinking that the last thing he had wished for in a new friend was a grammar nerd.

Matt missed a beat, a sure-fire sign that he might lie about it. "Melissa Yarbo, right before we left for Duel Academy."

The name was quick enough and had a ring of accuracy. Bryan wracked his brain to remember who Melissa Yarbo could be when Dave rescued him from the need. "Yarbo is a small town in Saskatchewan."

Suddenly it made sense to Bryan. Andy and Justin picked it up right away, too. Andy laughed and pointed. "Oh, no! You used the fake girlfriend from Canada excuse? And then Dave just geography-blocked you."

Dave asked, "You didn't know I was from Canada, did you?"

"I did not. The last census put Yarbo at 72 people. I was counting on no one knowing anything about it. But you caught me." He glared at Bryan. "If you want a direct, albeit crass answer, then yes. I would like to bang it out with Lucy."

"Good luck," said Justin. "She has body issues and no desire to see a therapist about it. Ever since she showed up last year, she has always worn loose-fitting clothes to make sure no one knows exactly how big she is. Even living in the same house with her, I've never seen her in anything tighter than an XXL sweater." Andy and Dave nodded their agreement.

"Sounds like you might have to give that one up," said Bryan. He could tell by the look in Matt's eye that a simple statement like that wasn't enough to sway him. "Besides, don't you have a thing going with Kasumi?"

Dave recognized the name. "That's Cary's roommate, right? She's cute."

Matt scoffed. "There's also a culture gap there. People in Japan act like hugging is an act of lifelong commitment instead of a greeting between friends."

"Not even kind of accurate when you generalize it like that," said Andy, shaking his head vehemently. "Traditional, conservative families, maybe. Not everyone."

"But Kas is one of them, you're saying," said Bryan. "So instead of being crazy patient with a girl who kind of likes you, you're going to pursue a girl who seems uninterested?"

Matt smirked. "Absolutely. Don't they always say the thrill is in the chase?"

"Which is exactly why I'm starting to think you just seek excuses to be single all the time. It feeds into your little fantasy world where you're always miserable."

Dave chuckled. "What's that?"

"Oh, guys!" said Bryan, snickering and going into full make-fun-of-Matt mode. "This dude is smart as hell and not tragically flawed, so a few girls back home actually tried to make a move on him instead of waiting for him to come to them. I know, guy's dream, right? But then this idiot always says or does something stupid to make sure the girl changes her mind. I used to assume it was because he's just socially impaired, but maybe he does it on purpose."

"Maybe he needs some tips from Andy," said Justin, nudging his roommate. "This guy has been with Wikolia since freshman year. They've got the high school sweethearts thing down pat."

Andy raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, there's not much to it. Just listen, pay attention, and never ever say she looks fat."

"Sounds simple," said Matt. He shared a smile with the group. "I'm sure you'll know if it works because I'll be around the Guardhouse a lot more often."

Following a groan from everyone, Andy added, "Girls like tenacity, too. It lets them know you won't abandon them just because things get a little difficult sometimes. But make sure you don't cross that line into 'creepy stalker' territory. That's different and illegal almost everywhere."

"Almost," Dave repeated with a laugh.

Bryan shook his head. Getting Amber Kohler to date him had felt like an impossible task because of how analytical she was about every little thing. A misspoken word in conversation, taking too long to respond to questioning, using periods in text messages… The first three months were crucial for getting past that and to a point of comfort between them so that she could utterly crush him eleven months later. "I don't miss the game-playing."

Matt smiled back. "Life is all about games. It's only upsetting when you don't know the rules. That's when you have to take Andy's advice: listen, learn, and undermine."

Andy started, "That's not exactly what I—"

"Oh, there goes my phone," said Matt, diving into his pocket and ignoring the lesson Andy would have delivered. Bryan's phone buzzed at the same time. He pulled up his Duel Academy email and read the newest message. His second round had been decided.

"Looks like I'm up in an hour," said Bryan. He almost dreaded reading the information. Being social had led him to miss the window for fleeing back to the Slifer dorm. "How about you?"

"Forty-seven minutes, but same idea." He craned his neck to check out Bryan's phone. "Looks like we're even in the same room this time."

"Too bad our duels are simultaneous or else I'd get to watch you."

Matt waved him off. "I'm boring. My deck is the exact same every time. I'm more interested in watching you duel instead. Round 1 was rough, but maybe Round 2 is where you'll find your footing."

Nodding through a frown, Bryan said, "Yeah, maybe." In reality, he was certain another devastating loss was coming his way. After all, he had already lost to this particular opponent once before. Unless he pulled off something special, they were just in for a repeat performance.

Dave asked, "Did you bring a side deck? Maybe we can take a look at it and give you some tips to get ready."

"Side deck?" asked Matt. "Is that like a deck you keep in your back pocket in case your main deck stops putting out?"

Andy made a face at him. "I feel like you're being facetious, but just in case: You're allowed to carry a fifteen-card side deck to the placement exams and swap some cards from your main deck between rounds based on little changes you think need to be made." Looking to the others for support, he added, "I think you can end up with more cards in your main deck than when you started, if you want."

"Yeah," affirmed Dave. "The only limitation is your side deck can't start out bigger than fifteen cards."

"Side decking is another factor in your rank," said Justin. He thought briefly about the accuracy of his own claim before adding, "It's a judgment piece by the admins, I think, but if you change out cards and your performance improves, it helps your score."

Bryan asked, "How will they know you swapped out cards?"

"The system scans the deck when you load it. That's how it knows which cards you're allowed to take for certain effects."

Dave said, "Come on. Let's head for the library and check out your cards. You guys coming?"

Andy confirmed he would join Dave and Bryan, but Justin shook his head. "Those two are more than enough support for you. We'll check out the progress of some of the other duelists."

"And mock their fashion sense," said Matt, obviously joking since everyone wore practically the same outfit. Aside from the Guardians wearing green, he was the only person who stood out at all with his unzipped jacket. "Names, too. I hear there's a Russian student named Ivan Drago."

"Pretty sure you just made that up," said Bryan. "That's the guy from _Rocky IV_."

Matt and Justin went off to do their thing and mock their fellow man while Bryan followed his Guardian Dueler escorts to the library where they could discuss tweaks to his deck. He had not wanted to push so hard for people he knew for only one week to help him out, but he desperately wanted their help before he got himself kicked out of school.

The library was surprisingly busy. The instant Round 1 concluded, there was a twenty-minute break where everyone could either relax and get a coffee or stress out and anxiously flurry through their decks. Every person in the library appeared to be the latter. Cards were scattered over tables as panicked duelists tried to piece together their best combos heretofore unrealized in time to make use of new cards in the next round. On top of seeking stronger combos, duelists reached for the element of unpredictability in case their next opponents had also seen part of their decks in Round 1. Overall, the air was heavy with anxiety, paranoia, and sweat. The smell was worst coming off a Slifer Bryan recognized from the first floor of the dorm. Instead of saying hi, he and the Guardians went upstairs to the bigger hall.

Tables upstairs were likewise filled with duelists, many of whom had built small forts out of books in order to shield their cards from prying eyes. A small section of the closest table was open enough for the three of them. Incidentally, Cary sat in the middle of the table—reading a book for some inexplicable reason.

"Hey, Cary," said Dave as he greeted his cousin with a familial side-hug. " _Hunger Games_?"

"I appreciate the effect it has on the other people here to see me reading a book about teenagers trying to kill one another in mortal combat," she said with a smirk. Indeed, there was practically a bubble around Cary where no one else sat. They gave her a wide berth, either because she was radioactive or because no one wanted to invite her potentially murderous wrath.

Cary stopped reading long enough to give Bryan and Andy each a chin tilt, as if to say "'Sup?" but without any spoken words. Bryan attempted a nonchalant shrug and half-frown as if to say "Nothin' much," but he put too much effort into it and ended up looking more like he was just clueless to his surroundings instead.

"You're not side decking?" asked Dave.

"Why would I? I landed a one-turn kill in that first duel. Don't mess with perfection."

Andy and Dave exchanged glances. "Whoa. So much confidence," remarked Andy.

"I'm not sure she wasn't just talking about her hair," said Bryan.

Joke or not, Cary smiled back at him and presented her cheek as if posing for a picture while thanking him for the compliment. She quickly returned to her book, but she continued to multitask as the boys sat down. "You guys helping Bryan with his side deck?"

"A few tips, maybe," said Dave. "You have any issue with that?"

"No. It's good for the best duelist in school to help out the worst."

Bryan felt like he'd been stabbed right in the gut. "Thanks a lot," he grumbled. He couldn't even be mad at her. It felt too true to argue. "I may be hopeless."

A beat passed as everyone waited for him to finish the thought. Cary cocked an eyebrow in lieu of saying "But…?"

He shrugged. "No but. I might be hopeless."

Dave jabbed him on the shoulder. "Not if you keep trying, you aren't. Let's take a look."

Somewhere in the middle of a discussion about how Bryan should look into focusing his deck on one type of Hero—either use Neos support or focus on Fusion Heroes, Cary's phone buzzed. She grabbed it and stood from the table without a word.

"Leaving so soon?" asked Dave. "I hope it wasn't something I said."

"Or the way I smell," joked Bryan.

Cary neither confirmed nor denied either. She pushed her chair under the tabletop, dropped her book in a nearby bin, and headed toward the door. On her way out, she heard Andy explain her sudden exit. "I saw it. She had an alarm on her phone. Ten minutes until her next duel."

"Should we go watch?" asked Bryan.

Cary stopped and hollered back, "No. You study." She was quickly shushed and buffeted with sneers from people whose concentration was shattered by her outburst. It didn't matter. More important was that no one followed her. She didn't want anyone trying to cheer her on.

She found her opponent upstairs in the humanities wing. Mitch Zielinski was the top-ranked student in Ra Yellow at the end of the previous year. Born to a Polish father and Scottish mother, he was practically destined for Duel Academy since he won the children's world championship at eight years old. He was finding as he aged, however, there was a difference between a prodigy and a genius. A prodigy does things other people can do but at a young age: Mitch proved his dueling prowess in his youth, but others of his age and across the globe caught up by the time he was ready for Duel Academy.

He was struggling at this point to ascend past his current peak at the top of Ra Yellow, and Cary had no qualms about stepping on him while she raced for the top herself.

Mitch was a decent-looking guy. He had a pronounced nose on a round face, generally a Slavic look about him. Most importantly, he had his deck all ready to go. He shuffled it exactly thirteen times—a quirk Cary had heard about him. Unlike most people, he found the number thirteen to be lucky. He refused to duel if he shuffled his deck any fewer than thirteen times, and if he went over even by one, then he started over with a new thirteen shuffles.

"Cary Strickland," he said. He didn't offer a handshake. Rumor had it he was germaphobic. Cary didn't mind. Touching other people was a bother for her, too.

"Mitch Zielinski. Pleasure to meet you."

"Same. I hear you're a force to fear in a duel."

She shrugged. "Want to find out?"

He smiled, looking more at her nose than in her eyes. Either he was nervous, maybe somewhat autistic, or he hated green eyes. "Let's duel." Straight to the point. Not enough people like that, if you asked Cary's opinion.

Following the onscreen prompts, Cary took the first turn. She played _Pot of Duality_ to look at her top three cards, keep one, and shuffle her deck. After that, she had no moves to make. Or more accurately, she had no moves she _wanted_ to make… yet.

Mitch hesitated a moment at what he thought was a trap, but he ultimately decided that an empty field and nothing in the graveyard was the least threatening an opponent could be.

" _Charge of the Light Brigade_ ," he said. A brilliant light flashed through the projectors as a white dog sprinted across the field and jumped into Mitch's hand. He sent three cards from his deck straight to the graveyard in order to claim a Lightsworn monster to his hand.

" _Tour Guide From the Underworld_ (3: 1000/600)," he said next, summoning a uniformed lady who stood in front of a ghastly-looking bus. She carried a speaker by her side to make sure she could be heard when she spoke. "Special summon _Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss_ (3: 800/2000)." The bus door opened and a demon with wild hair, snarling teeth, expansive wings, and tendril-like fingers emerged. Its teeth snarled like a prison warden ready to torture its victims. "Overlay for _Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss_ (3: 1000/2500)." Named for Dante Alighieri, his card dressed as an old, Italian explorer ready for a voyage through Hell.

Mitch continued his turn. "Dante's effect: Lose one xyz material, then three cards from my deck." He first sent Scarm to the graveyard and then discarded three cards straight from his deck. Doing so raised Dante's (+2500) power by 500 points per card. Freshly powered up, Dante drew his sword and lunged at Cary for a direct attack, quickly taking a defensive stance in case of counterattack.

Cary 5500: Mitch 8000

Despite her words to Dave, Cary had, in fact, already researched Mitch and completed a few trades with her side deck. From checking out the details of his profile on the Duel Academy website, she knew he mixed the Lightsworn monsters into a Burning Abyss deck in order to make use of their complimentary abilities, such as his closing move: As he ended his turn, Mitch pointed out that Scarm was sent to the graveyard, so he got to move another Burning Abyss monster to his hand from the deck.

At the moment, Cary wasn't bothered. Mitch took a commanding lead given the way she left herself open, but she knew she was capable of a comeback. The problem was she didn't have all the cards she needed just yet. She decided to play another _Pot of Duality_ , again searching the next three cards to take the one she wanted. Now that she found most of her preparations complete, she was stuck waiting for her next turn. As helpful as it was to pick and choose her cards, _Pot of Duality_ also prevented her from performing any special summons, which were vital to her Dragunity strategy.

Setting only one card on the field, she put her faith in the fact that 5500 Life Points was a lot to take out in just one turn. Maybe Mitch wouldn't be able to do it.

When Mitch drew, he looked contemplative and serious, but not worried. Despite the look on his face, it took him a mere glance to decide on a course of action. Maybe he wasn't a genius, but he was quick to act.

"Dante (1000) to attack mode. Then _Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn_ (4: 1700/1000)." His new warrior was shirtless and proud of it, showing off rippling muscles and wielding a sword with a blade like shimmering sapphire. In his other hand he held a small chisel, which he used to strike Mitch's deck. "His effect: Two cards from the deck to the graveyard." He sent Shaddoll Falco to the graveyard, which activated its own effect of being special summoned in face-down defense position.

Dante lost another xyz material and sent three more cards to the grave to raise his power by 1500 points again. With a swift flick of his wrist, Dante's (+2500) sword found its home in Cary's Life Points, followed soon by the heavy swing of Raiden's (1700) powerful blade.

Cary 1300: Mitch 8000

"You don't attack as much as I thought you would," said Mitch.

"Just waiting for the right moment."

"So you can do another OTK?" he asked. She looked up at him, which made him nervous. "One-turn-kill. I saw that you did so in Round 1."

"Maybe. Can you stop me?"

"Probably not. The one thing people could never get over where prodigies are concerned is that we're just as susceptible to bad luck as anyone else. And you're good with your cards."

"Trap Stun," she said. Her card flipped up and stood on its end, watching the field ready to freeze any trap cards before they could activate.

Mitch nodded. "I thought so." Turns out he was able to predict that for Cary to set a card and not use it to protect her own Life Points, she was betting everything on a single turn. Her trap was intended to make sure nothing interfered with her play.

Cary next threw " _Upstart Goblin_ ," bringing a fat goblin wearing decadent clothes to the field. He seemed to demand payment from Mitch, which translated to Cary drawing one new card, and then the goblin gave a pittance of 1000 LP to Mitch in exchange. "Next, _Dragon Shrine_." The effect brought forth a series of towering dragon bones that had been adapted into a local shrine. The bones came from a dragon card Cary sent from her deck to the graveyard.

Cary 1300: Mitch 9000

" _Dragunity Dux_ (4: 1500/1000)." She summoned a toga-clad man dressed in armored wings and a headdress resembling the form of a falcon. He wielded a cat o' nine tails in his left hand. She reached into her graveyard and showed Mitch her _Dragunity Phalanx_ (2: 500/1100) as she equipped it to Dux. The tiny dragon curled around Dux's other arm and withdrew into its bronze armor, leaving the appearance of brass knuckles with twin spearheads as the weapon. "Phalanx summons itself." Releasing its hold on Dux's arm, Phalanx became a second monster—a dragon in bronze armor.

And the duel continued in almost the exact same fashion as when she faced Jeri Fleig. Cary sent Phalanx away for Mystletainn only to summon Phalanx right back to the field. Dux and Phalanx resonated and combined into Gae Dearg, which overlaid with Mystletainn to summon _Hieratic Dragon King of Atum_. Its effect led to _Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon_ , whose effect led to another Phalanx. Zephyros put Red-Eyes back in her hand and then combined with Phalanx to summon Vajrayana, who brought Phalanx right back only to be removed for a full-strength Red-Eyes, joined by Gae Dearg.

Finally the course of her cards shifted. "Vajrayana (+2500) gets _Dragunity Divine Lance_ ," a golden polearm adorned with wings matching every Dragunity monster Cary ever laid eyes on. "Effect, summon Phalanx (2: 500/1100) from the deck." Her bronze-armored dragon equipped to Vajrayana as a weapon, but then it slithered aside and stood upright as its own entity. "Gae Dearg (6) and Vajrayana (6) overlay into _Constellar Ptolemy M7_ (6: 2700/2000)." Her two dragon riders merged their core energy into a white, mechanical dragon with wings like the expanse of the night sky. When Cary detached an xyz material from it, the wings shone even more brightly until the light consumed Mitch's face-down _Shaddoll Falco_ , sending it back to his hand.

Mitch watched every move with fascination. Every move Cary made wrought the wonders of the universe in his eyes.

"I special summon _Garuda the Wind Spirit_ (4: 1600/1200)," said Cary as she banished a monster from her graveyard. An eagle-headed man wearing orange pants flew to the field, but not for long. Phalanx (2) began to resonate again, this time merging with Garuda (6) to summon another copy of _Dragunity Knight – Vajrayana_ (6: 1900/1200), her red dragon with the armored knight holding the reins. Predictably, she used the dragon rider's effect to summon Phalanx (2: 500/1100) back to the field. This time, Phalanx (2) resonated with Vajrayana (6) to summon _Scrap Dragon_ (8: 2800/2000), a mechanical dragon assembled from uniform strips of metal sheeting.

"I special summon _Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms_ (7: 2400/2200)," she said while banishing more monsters from her graveyard. A vicious storm whipped up on the field, so intense that vents on the duel station began to blow air at its two seated players. The winds rapidly took the shape of a towering dragon, as if the beast had no body of its own outside the storm. "Overlay Atum (6) into _Gaia Dragon, the Thunder Charger_ (7: 2600/2100)." The purple dragon with the golden armor was replaced with a new dragon rider. Unlike her other dragon riders, this one appeared more mechanical, each arm replaced with a jousting lance.

Mitch held his fingers out for a moment, like he was ready to play a piano, but then he pulled them back. He was doing mental math just like Cary already had. The duel was over.

First the Red-Eyes (2800) obliterated Raiden (1700) in a fiery breath attack. Second, Gaia Dragon (2600) skewered Dante (2500) with his powerful lance, piercing Mitch during the effort. Along with the lingering effect of _Trap Stun_ , Mitch's field was defenseless against an onslaught of attacks by Ptolemy (2700), Tempest (2400), and Scrap Dragon (2800).

Cary 1300: Mitch 0

"I saw it coming," said Mitch.

"Maybe that's part of your talent," said Cary, mostly to pity him. She figured being a prodigy was overrated if it couldn't help you get a better ranking at Duel Academy.

"They'll come for you," he added.

Now he had Cary's full attention. She stared at him wide-eyed, with a look that said, "Please say that again in a way that sounds less rapey."

"Team OTK has some roster openings after people graduated last year. You've proven you're a candidate."

Oh. That was much less intense than she had expected. "I'm more of a lone wolf-type."

"Teams aren't about getting help," he explained. "It's about representing Duel Academy and making a name for yourself."

She rolled her eyes. The concept sounded dumb, but she'd ask Dave what he thought about it later. Cary needed to know more about the dueling teams before she could form any solid opinion.

* * *

Matt snuck up on Bryan in the Kazama B room. He was already standing at the duel station beside Jack Hardy. They were talking about something, but Matt couldn't care less what it was. He stepped between them and made eye contact with Bryan. "Don't worry too much about this duel. You've seen his deck. You know what's coming. And I'll be two tables over, watching you kick ass." Matt looked Jack in the eye with a smile on his face. "I'd wish you luck, roomie, but you don't need it, do you? You've already succeeded once. What challenge can there be in doing it again?"

Bryan uttered, "Dude…"

"Relax. Have fun. Remember: It's just a game."

Matt could see the look of sarcasm on Jack's face in contrast with Bryan's face, twisted in a mix of bewilderment and anxiety. Their reluctant roommate remarked, "Considering what I've heard about your luck with girls, playing both sides of the field sounds like exactly the kind of behavior I'd expect from you." Matt ignored the double entendre and winked at him, which made Jack shift uncomfortably. If all went well, Jack would be so annoyed that he would slip up. If not, he would double-down and give Bryan an even harder fight than last time. Either way, it ought to be entertaining.

When Matt sat down, he found himself across from Shane Pricer in his Ra Yellow jacket. A glance showed Shane looking unamused. Matt said, "You don't have your usual vigor. What's wrong? Forget to put extra sugar in your Wheaties this morning?"

"You have to ask that stupid question? I'm dueling against a Slifer," he griped, scowling now. "In what way will that improve my rank?"

"It won't," said Matt frankly.

"Yeah. This sucks. All because I made one mistake in the first round. But goddamn it, to fall so far as to duel a Slifer!"

A tall, black guy wearing a green Duel Academy jacket stepped closer to the table and said, "Chill, dude. Slifer duelists have some skills, too."

Matt frowned at the guy. He didn't look old enough to be a teacher, but he was older than the average student. From the green jacket it was obvious he numbered among the Guardian Duelers. His was not a face Matt had seen anywhere on campus, however. "Who the hell are you?"

"Mikey Brittle, and I'm here to proctor your duel. That won't be a problem, will it?"

For a moment, Matt made a face that implied he didn't care. He never shrugged or shook his head. "Which god card do you have?"

Shane's eyes flicked toward Mikey. He knew the topic was never supposed to be explicitly discussed except in the strict circumstances of a duel involving the god cards. Any unwarranted mention of the cards could result in reprimand by the faculty, at their discretion. Mikey seemed not to notice the infraction, or perhaps he didn't care. He merely motioned toward the table and said, "Why don't you guys just start your duel? Keep it clean, calm, and fair."

"Whatever," said Matt, turning to take a look at Bryan's duel. They had just drawn their opening hands. No one made a move yet.

Shane said, "Looks like you're up first, smart guy."

"You want to place a wager on this duel?"

Shane sneered at him.

"Isn't that a thing you do?"

"Are you upset because your buddy Bryan owes me a favor?"

"No. But I'm curious what card you were going to offer him. You feel like duplicating the bet from that night? If I win, you give me whatever Hero card you were willing to part with."

Shane smirked. "You're a Slifer. You won't win."

"Then there's no reason not to take the bet."

"Fine. But since you're so insistent, you'll owe me _two_ favors when I win."

Matt shrugged. "Whatever tickles your fancy."

Mikey stepped up again to say, "You guys know you aren't required to ante up on the placement exams, right? I mean, I won't stop you if you want to do it…"

"Then let's get this duel underway," said Matt, taking up his opening cards. He looked into a sea of green—mostly spell cards in his hand. No monsters at all, which was not the best way to win. Shane only played a couple of monsters in his duel against Bryan, but they hinted that an Assault Mode deck was possible. He was going to summon a big monster first and then make it bigger. Matt needed his own monsters to fight back. "I'll set three cards to end my turn."

"Nothing better than that?" asked Shane. "Too bad. You might make this even easier than Bryan did. I'll start the game with _Windwitch – Ice Bell_ (3: 1000/1000)." A whirlwind whipped and lashed through the field as a petite witch with a spiraling hat swooped down, riding sidesaddle on a broom that looked more like a crystalline flower with a ribbon tied around the end. "Summoning her also summons _Windwitch – Glass Bell_ (4: 1500/1500)." The first witch was joined by a second, dressed in white. Instead of riding a flower, her broom resembled a bell. "Summoning this one moves another Windwitch to my hand.

"But now let's resolve all the effects." He finished planting his monster cards and searched the deck for a third. Ice Bell hopped off her broom and swung it like a baseball bat, sending a flurry of wind so cold and sharp it struck Matt like shards of ice. "That's 500 points of damage just for using her effect to summon her."

Matt 7500: Shane 8000

To Shane's chagrin, Matt appeared to be disinterested in the duel. His neck was craned in the direction of Bryan's duel. He recognized the silence, though, and asked, "Why are you so mad about dueling a Slifer?"

Shane sputtered. "No one wants to duel someone beneath them. It means they're checking to see if I even deserve to be in Ra Yellow."

Instead of making a big deal about a duel he expected to win anyway, Shane continued playing. " _Windwitch – Snow Bell_ (1: 100/100) is summoned because I have two Windwitches already." His third witch was the first not to look humanoid; instead it resembled a floating, silver bell with two sapphires for eyes and two tiny wings protruding from its head.

Shane's two human witches clanged their brooms together, allowing the sound waves to resonate loudly until the moment their pitches became one and the two entities merged into a single being that could have been a paper airplane. In total it resembled a blue jay riding atop a single blue wing like a sled through the wintry mix of weather spraying through the air. "I synchro summoned _Windwitch – Winter Bell_ (7: 2400/2000)."

Matt didn't pay attention to the table, but he did shiver once in response to the lowering temperature intended to give the duelists a feel for the Windwitch power coursing through the field. "More damage, right?" he asked. Somehow he was able to stay abreast of the events in his own duel even without watching said events unfold.

His ability to do so irked Shane. "Yeah," he agreed. "Winter Bell hits you for 800 points: 200 times the level of a Windwitch like Glass Bell (4) in my graveyard." Wave after wave after wave after wave of winter weather slammed Matt as he shivered in his seat.

Matt 6700: Shane 8000

"My turn now?" He still stared off in the distance.

"Not yet. My two monsters synchro summon _Stardust Dragon_ (8: 2500/2000)." The Snow Bell and Winter Bell rang just as loudly and clearly as the earlier witches until they transformed into sound waves that grew and took the form of a dragon shining as brightly as the stars in the night sky. Despite the muscle behind his dragon, Shane looked over Matt's cards. "That ends my turn." No point in taking unnecessary risks until the second turn, where he would be significantly better prepared.

"Before your turn ends, I activate _Eternal Soul_ ," said Matt. A monolith bearing the inscribed outline of a Dark Magician rose from the ground on his field. "I'll move _Dark Magic Attack_ from my deck to my hand." He searched his deck for a card and then gave the deck to Mikey to shuffle.

"I thought you wasn't paying attention," said the big guy as he handled the deck.

Matt shook his head. "I got the gist of it." He took a card from the top of the deck. "Now I'll use _Eternal Soul_ again to take _Thousand Knives_ from my deck to my hand." He handed his deck back to Mikey. "Too bad I couldn't just let you keep it last time."

"No worries. I got you shuffled up again."

"Thanks."

"I'm chaining _Assault Mode Activate_ ," said Shane, grumbling to himself about missed timing. "Stardust goes to the graveyard so he can evolve into _Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode_ (10: 3000/2500)." Although the overall structure of his monster remained the same, every bone lengthened and strengthened, every claw sharpened, spikes sprouted from its spine, wings grew pointed, and the overall size of the dragon became formidable.

"I like it. Got a grandiose sparkle-thing going on. Does it sell toothpaste? Maybe some of those whitening strips?"

Shane shook his head. "No. None of that. It doles out pain and frustration for you."

"Luckily that's also what my dentist recommends for me," said Matt. "I continue with _Magical Mallet_. All of my cards go back to my deck so I can draw a new hand instead." After taking a look at his new cards, Matt said, "Who needs to pay attention with cards like these? Set one card and summon _Apprentice Illusion Magician_ (6: 2000/1700) in defense." He dropped one card from his hand to the Graveyard to see a female magician appear on the field. She was nearly identical to the Dark Magician Girl save her younger and shorter features, violet robes, and long hair, platinum in color.

Matt made a face. "That will end my turn."

"Not until I chain _Call of the Haunted_ ," said Shane. His _Stardust Dragon_ (8: 2500/2000) emerged on the field, now giving him two night lights, as Matt remarked. "No need to fear the dark with this kind of firepower," he admitted.

Drawing a card for his turn, Shane activated _Assault Teleport_. "I shuffle this _Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode_ from my hand back into the deck, and then I draw two new cards. I'll set two, and then I'll have _Stardust Dragon_ (2500) attack your _Apprentice Illusion Magician_ (1700)."

"Maybe I'll use _Eternal Soul_ to get another _Thousand Knives_."

"Except it won't work this time. Stardust Assault Mode has an effect to negate that." Stardust Assault Mode flashed white-hot and flew into the monolith while the light shone on its insignia. In the collision, the monolith exploded, fragments striking _Apprentice Illusion Magician_ and removing her from the field. Stardust Assault Mode was also gone, but it was more accurate to say it had faded temporarily while it regained its energy. "My monster is banished, but your card is gone. And it looks like there was a nice bonus effect, too."

"Of course. Any card so useful is bound to have a downside. When _Eternal Soul_ goes away, my field is cleared of monsters."

Shane smirked. "That makes a perfect opportunity for _Stardust Dragon_ (2500) to land a direct attack." His shining dragon cocooned itself inside translucent wings momentarily and then unleashed beams of light energy that struck Matt multiple times, including right in the eyes.

He removed his glasses and rubbed his face. "Thanks for that."

"I don't control the holograms. That was just a bonus for me."

"Cute. But I thanked you for the direct attack. Now I can activate _Magician Navigation_. You dealt 2500 points of damage to me, which means I get to summon a monster from my deck with 2500 points." He laid out a _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100), looking taller and more confident than the Apprentice had earlier. "And also from my graveyard." He pulled a second _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) from the graveyard and placed it on the field. One of his cards in purple and one in red, he wielded two spell casters identical in power.

Matt 4200: Shane 8000

"When did you get a Dark Magician in the grave?" asked Shane.

"I had to discard _something_ to play my Apprentice without a tribute earlier. You'd know what it was already if you paid more attention to _our_ duel and stopped watching everyone else." Matt rolled his eyes just to get a rise out of Shane.

It worked. Shane looked even more upset than before. "Whatever. Stardust Assault Mode comes back at the end of the turn, so you're fucked no matter how many magicians you play."

Mikey asked, "Is that language really necessary?"

Shane grumbled something unintelligible under his breath. Matt thought that was an excellent summary of Shane's acumen.

"So you have two shiny monsters now instead of one."

"And I took out _Eternal Soul_. That's the clutch card in your deck," said Shane proudly.

"It sure is. And the thing about _Dark Magician_ ," his voice began dripping with sarcasm, "is that it only has one real support card. Once that's gone, there's no way a Dark Magician can do anything useful." He drew a card and put on an exaggerated expression of shock and surprise. "Oh, my god! There's actually more than one!" He made a googly-eyed face at Shane. "What do you think of this one?"

Meanwhile two tables down, Bryan felt like his duel was just as one-sided. It was bizarre, in fact. Last time he dueled with Jack, he got stomped—hard. But so far this time, it was like his deck was coming up all aces. Specifically, in this case, he turned _King of the Swamp_ and _Elemental Hero Sparkman_ into _Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman_ , which proceeded to CA-RUSH every one of Jack's monsters so far, preventing any of his summoning chains. As a stellar bonus, defense mode offered no protection since Flare Wingman's added damage effect took place every time it destroyed a monster.

The game changer, quite possibly, was the addition of _Royal Decree_ to his deck. With this card out, Jack was unable to use any of his traps at all. As things looked, Bryan might actually win one!

Bryan 8000: Jack 2600

He watched as Jack set one face-down card and a set a monster for the fourth turn in a row. Lady Luck was just not with his poor roommate at all.

On the other hand, Bryan's luck slowed after that first turn. Shining Flare Wingman was the only monster he had managed to keep on the field. Don't get him wrong: If he was stuck with any one monster, he was glad to have his luminescent ace monster, but every turn he didn't finish the duel left him nervous that Jack might fight back.

"Things are taking a sharp turn compared with our previous duel," said Bryan. He wasn't trying to provoke his roommate, but he wasn't one to ignore the elephant in the room, either, especially not while it sat right there on the couch wearing armor as bright as the sun. Bryan almost wished he had been bold enough to offer a bet before the duel began. Maybe he could get back the eternal cock-block Jack was holding over him.

"Don't mock me. It's painful enough having an off day during an exam," said Jack.

"I wasn't," Bryan promised. But it was easy to say that when Flare Wingman destroyed a second _Hieratic Dragon of Nuit_ (1700) and left Jack's side of the field smoldering in flames. It was harder to be diplomatic on the receiving end. Bryan knew that from experience.

Bryan 8000: Jack 900

Something in the air shifted, and Bryan felt a short breeze. When Jack drew, he scowled at his card. "I'll play _Dark Hole_ and just wipe the field clean." A star in the center of the stage rapidly collapsed on itself and became a black hole, gravity so strong that even the brilliant shine of Bryan's monster was unable to escape its direct course to the card graveyard.

With a slow nod, Bryan accepted the loss of his best card. The duel wasn't over yet, and Jack was rattled. A brief setback didn't mean anything.

"I play _Hieratic Dragon of Gebeb_ (4: 1800/400)." His dragon was sleek, any curves almost impossible to discern among its golden scales. It had a look of a gelatin molded into the form of a dragon and then armored with flawless gold. "Finally some payback." Gebeb flew across the field like a golden missile and pummeled Bryan directly.

Bryan 6200: Jack 900

"That was a good move," said Bryan, not intending to sound antagonistic. Part of him felt bad for taking the lead when even he expected to lose this duel. Watching Jack land a direct attack just felt like the duel was resuming its natural course.

"Yeah, whatever. It's your turn."

When Bryan drew, he experienced the same situation he had so many times before. It was exactly what Dave and Andy had warned him about: You don't want to be stuck in a situation where you need a monster and you end up drawing another trap card, especially while _Royal Decree_ is in play. All of a sudden, the trap card that protected him to this point was holding him back. He decided to hold out for one more turn, hoping that the weak monster in his hand would find support on the next turn.

"Nothing?" asked Jack. He tried to slump back and act sympathetic, but he couldn't hide the pleased smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Bummer. I'll just throw another _Hieratic Dragon of Gebeb_ (4: 1800/400) and deliver two more direct attacks." Bryan got walloped twice by the dragons of shimmering gold.

Bryan 2600: Jack 900

"This could be it," said Bryan as he lifted the top card of his deck. It wasn't a monster, but it was crucial support. "I play _E – Emergency Call_ and move Burstinatrix to my hand. Now if I polymerize Burstinatrix and Avian…" A spatial rift on the field swirled and combined the green and red of Bryan's two Heroes to summon a warrior comprising both: half winged predator, half fiery dragon, all _Elemental Hero Flame Wingman_ (6: 2100/1200).

Jack pursed his lips as he saw what was coming. Bryan saw the disappointment in Jack's eyes and actually felt a pang of guilt for not losing the duel this time.

But the experience was so bizarre and contrary to the last two weeks that he almost choked on the words. "Flame Wingman (2100) attacks Gebeb (1800)." Flames poured from Flame Wingman's draconic arm and consumed the golden dragon until its body had become flame. But even when the attack ended, the damage continued, for Gebeb's flaming body continued to raise the heat on Jack directly, inflicting the full brunt of the dragon's power as damage.

For the first time since arriving at Academy Island, Bryan was victorious.

Bryan 2600: Jack 0

Jack collected his cards slowly. He was visibly upset but not angry. It was more like he had figured himself likely to win yet prepared for the opposite—like maybe he foresaw only a fifty-one percent chance. "Does this mean you want out of our previous agreement?"

The question threw Bryan for a loop. Of course he did, but a part of him felt like making any request after-the-fact was unsportsmanlike. He smiled instead. "No. We didn't put stakes on this duel, so I can't make something up now just because I won for once. Neither of us was very fast this time. If anything, our two duels only prove how much luck is involved in the cards. The cards just weren't there for you this time so you didn't get as many summons as last time."

"Yeah, I knew I wouldn't be able to win every time. It just sucks to lose during the placement exams, ya know? Just rotten luck. It'll hurt my result."

"But you can always challenge your way up the chain, right? So don't put too much pressure on yourself for this last duel. The cards will fall where they will." _Follow your own advice, E-Hero Boy._

"I'll bet that's why they make us play three rounds for this exam when they could just as easily use our entrance scores." As Jack took Bryan's hand for a congratulatory shake, he mumbled, "Hey, I feel bad about being so harsh last time we dueled."

"Don't worry about it." In reality, Bryan was hardly fazed by Jack making him promise to stay away from any girl Jack had the hots for. Bryan hadn't felt himself truly drawn toward any of the girls on campus. Plenty of them were gorgeous in face and body. A year ago, he'd love to get with any of them. Right now, though, even his interest in Erica was more for the fun of flirting than the beginning of a serious relationship. Until he worked through these unknown issues, his promise to Jack wouldn't be hard to keep.

With a smirk, Bryan nudged him. "For my reference, have you picked a girl yet? Just so I know who to avoid."

Jack's expression softened. His eyes darted back and forth as he leaned in to whisper, like he was about to divulge state secrets. "I have. And lucky for you, she's easy to remember because she wears a green jacket."

Bryan's heart skipped a beat. Was Jack about to steal his chances with Erica away? But when he followed the trajectory of Jack's subtle nod, he found someone different on the other end. "Lucy?"

"Lucy…" Jack muttered. He didn't know her name before Bryan said it. "You know her?"

"I've only talked to her twice. Have you ever met her?"

"Not yet, but you can introduce me."

"Yeah, I suppose." At least it sounded easy until Bryan remembered that Matt had a thing for her. Sure, Matt was caught between two girls at the time, but he was still Bryan's best friend. Given the choice between his best friend and a roommate he barely knew, he just couldn't bring himself to help Jack in this arena. "Why her?" he asked, hoping to shift the subject. "She's pretty big."

"Big is not an issue, but 'pretty' doesn't even cover it. Her face is more perfect than any I've ever seen—like crafting a bust of marble with all the flawless features of humanity and then breathing life into it." It was interesting to hear that. Bryan considered Lucy to be closer to "interesting-looking." Sure, she was pretty, but she didn't have the onscreen actress face that Erica had or the supermodel look like his ex-girlfriend. Obviously Jack saw something in her that Bryan didn't. "Big girls need love, too, especially when they're hot."

"That's fair. I guess there's no harm in introducing you sometime. Have you thought about dating that girl Cary? She's cute, plus she uses a Hieratic card like you do."

Jack rolled his eyes. "I'm not married to my cards, dude. You and Matt both use Prisma but you don't date."

"No, not after that one time at band camp. Turns out we just aren't what the other is looking for." Jack chuckled at the joke. Bryan checked his phone for the time. "I guess it's time for lunch before we get the schedule for Round Three. Good luck to you."

"And you. See you later."

As soon as Jack walked away, Matt slid into his seat opposite Bryan. "How did it go?"

"Weren't you watching?"

"I was in the beginning, but I got distracted for a minute. You shouldn't feel bad about losing to Shane. Dude can duel."

Bryan frowned. "Did you actually lose?"

"Hell no! He got down on the business end of three Dark Magicians and kissed my ass. I speak figuratively, of course. Given the conservative rules of this school, I'm pretty sure literal ass-kissing is a violation. Especially in public. Anyway, here you go."

Bryan was bewildered to see Matt holding Vision Hero Trinity in his hand. "Where did you get this?"

"From Shane. It's the card he was going to give you if you had managed to beat him that other time."

"Dude, you don't have to waste the spoils of your duels on me. You probably could have gotten something to help your own deck instead."

"Why? I'm undefeated so far. I'd rather give you a boost."

"Thanks, man. Will it work, though? I don't have any other Vision Heroes."

Matt smirked. "That's the great thing about doing your homework and reading the card effects. It works with all types of Heroes." Bryan marveled at the card when he realized Matt was right. He went through the effect word by word while Matt said, "Seriously. We should get you into the library. I'll bet they have plenty of books about Hero play."

"That was one of Andy's suggestions earlier. I didn't even know that was an option before then."

"Karma for putting so much faith in football over the library all these years."

"Two. Two years," said Bryan.

"Still. You weren't exactly a bookworm before then."

Bryan knew that was a true statement. "They're just so… inanimate."

"Whereas a football moves by itself."

"Not by itself, but the damn thing does move around a lot."

Matt slapped Bryan on the shoulder. "You'll get there. Let's grab some lunch."

Between all the worry about placement exams and consideration of quitting school at Duel Academy, Bryan never stopped to consider that the pit in his stomach could be the result of hunger instead of misery. The idea of filling his belly amplified the feeling and drove him toward the door even ahead of Matt and the Guardians who rejoined them.

The Duel Academy kitchen had a buffet line set up every day for lunch. Normally the hours were restricted to the two hours surrounding noon—the open period between classes. The cafeteria was somewhat small, just big enough to house the 150 students all at once. Bryan gravitated straight toward the buffet line, but Andy stepped away. Dave said, "We'll catch up. We're gonna go make rounds and check on some of the results so far." He and Andy split up to speak to those seated at two of the lunchroom tables.

Justin caught up a moment later and asked, "Where'd Dave and Andy go?"

Bryan motioned toward the tables. "They went to see how everyone else is doing."

"Right on. I'll catch up with you guys." Following the lead of the other Guardians, Justin walked away and mingled with the other lunchroom attendees.

With a short grumble, Bryan asked, "You ever get the feeling those guys have other friends besides just us?"

"Who has friends?" It turned out Matt wasn't even looking that way. His gaze was fixated on the food, already mentally selecting his lunch items and figuring out how to arrange them on his tray so that he fit everything without the moist items touching the crispy items and making them soggy.

That level of nonchalance made Bryan chuckle. "I keep forgetting that you hardly notice other people."

"People can only distract you if you let them. Who are you again?"

"Very funny."

Matt took advantage of Bryan's attention gap to slip ahead of him in line. He rapidly filled his plate with roasted asparagus, strips of beef brisket, steamed corn, and two potato rolls. Following a different approach, Bryan piled up the chicken nuggets and French fries, and then he grabbed some corn just for the vegetable.

"Nice plate of _brown_ ," said Matt.

"At least my pee won't smell because of it."

Despite the room being big enough for everyone, exam day found the students coming and going frequently. More than half the tables were completely empty, and Matt chose one of those to sit.

Shrugging as he sat beside his grumpy friend, Bryan said, "I'm young and my immune system is strong. Gotta eat like this now while I can still recover from it." Which meant there was a fifty percent chance that Bryan would be doubled over on the toilet in an hour "recovering" from lunch. As long as it didn't interfere with his third duel, he didn't mind a little evacuation drill.

But thinking about that made him realize how close they were now to finishing the day. The second round was still wrapping up, and then there was an hour-long lunch break for the professors and judges. He wondered what would happen to him in the third round. Most likely, he was looking at a coming loss. The second round felt like a fluke victory, and a win implied that he'd be facing an even stronger opponent next. Did he even have a shot at a second consecutive victory?

As tough as Bryan's third duel would be, Matt had to set his own bar way too high. He won both rounds so far, including against a Ra Yellow. Who would he end up facing next?

"Who do you think you'll end up dueling in the third round?"

"Some asshole, I'm sure," Matt snipped between mouthfuls.

"What happens if you win?"

"If there's any justice in the world, I'll get a trophy and my choice of the girls on campus. I've already chosen, just for reference."

"And back here in reality... Do you think they'll bump you up to Ra Yellow?"

"I never thought about it."

When he said nothing else, Bryan asked, "Would you think about it now?"

"I don't like hypotheticals."

"But you think you'll win."

"Well, yeah. It feels stupid to bother dueling if I don't think I'll win."

"Losing can be a good teacher, too."

Matt scoffed, clearly unimpressed with Bryan's nugget of modest wisdom. "If there's something to learn, then yes, losing can be a good teacher. But when you undermine that ability by expecting to lose, then what you learn is that you know how to lose. There is little gained in doing anything less than dueling like you're going to win."

Bryan didn't have a clear response to that. Matt made an interesting point. If anyone always expected to lose, it was Bryan. Did that expectation only perpetuate a cycle of losing? It was the typical outcome for him. How much influence could he wield over his duels simply by changing his outlook?

Cutting through the silence after a mouthful of brisket, Matt asked, "So if you win your next duel, you'll end up near the top of Slifer Red. Does that excite you at all?"

"I guess. Originally I figured I would lose again. In the worst case scenario, what do you think a record of one win, two losses will do for me?"

"Nothing that bad. Statistically speaking, there's at least a twenty-five percent chance of ending with that record. As many people will end the exams with a losing record as with a winning record. Whatever happens, get your algorithmic rank, fix your deck, then duel your way up the chain. It's simple as that."

Bryan guffawed. "That's not so simple."

"Then change your goal. If you want to lose all the time, I'm sure you can make that happen."

"Dude, that's not what I meant. But I get your point. Maybe next time don't be such a dick about it." Matt clearly had a caustic way of getting his point across, but his advice was the same as Dr. Arbus: Take it one duel at a time. That advice netted Bryan his first victory at Duel Academy, and as soon as the moment passed, the victory ultimately means nothing. His only goal right now was the same as before: Win just one duel.

* * *

 **Just a continuation of Placement Exam Day. As I mentioned last time, I was torn between wanting to go through all three duels for all three duelists and thinking that was overkill. So these past two chapters along with the next one will contain hefty word counts, but I feel there is significant character points contained in all of the described events. Following the exam conclusion, we will see more movement in the story plot.**

 **Thanks to my readers for submitting Jack Hansbury to the story. Just a reminder that of 150 students, I have only named 29 (plus a few professor slots are still open). If you want to submit a character for the story's first year, feel free!**


	9. A Bit of Guidance through the Placements

Chapter 9: A Bit of Guidance through the Placements

The cafeteria was mostly empty when Cary arrived. Only pockets of duelists occupied a couple of the tables. Almost everyone today sat down, ate a small volume of food, and left for the library. Few wanted to spend the time hanging around when they could review their cards instead (and that was intended by the gods to be a solo activity). The food volume tended to be moderate so as to appease any hunger pangs but also to avoid reaching levels of discomfort that could interfere with concentration during the final round. One guy who did not adhere to the guideline succumbed to the anxiety and vomited in the nearby bathroom. Cary was unconcerned with her ability to concentrate on future duels, but she definitely preferred to be alone. Seeing the cafeteria so empty helped her relax.

Her enjoyment didn't last long, however. Kasumi entered soon after with three friends in tow. All of them grabbed their food and sat down with Cary, and then two more girls settled in. Cary toyed with the idea of running away, but somewhere inside she heard her cousin's voice reminding her that making friends with other duelists can pay dividends in the long term. Surely she could stand to be around others for a few minutes while she finished her meal.

Kasumi was the first to admit aloud she had lost both of her duels so far. She and the others grumbled and moaned about how their entire placement rank was being graded too heavily on luck. Cary felt bad that she didn't care more about their problems. She liked Kasumi and everyone as people well enough, but their problems were losing card games. It didn't feel like the end of the world for a bunch of kids.

Cee-Cee was the only one with a smile on her face. She lost in the first round, but she pulled off a commanding victory in her second duel, which put her in a good mood. Cary noticed inconsistency in the discussion from then on. It's easy to blame "bad luck" for a loss because it preserves one's ego when, in reality, winning was mostly about skill and preparation. Luck was only a factor in which cards came next—skill was how a duelist determined what to do with it.

"Hey, everyone." Cary's daze was broken by a girl wearing a green jacket. Hadn't she met all of Dave's housemates yet? Obviously she missed this one. Heterochromia was a difficult trait to forget. This fair-skinned lady had one brown eye and one blue, both lightly shaded as if the color were masked. Her hair was long and full with just the right amount of bounce every time her neck turned even slightly. It had a shine to it that can only achieved by regular attention from a higher grade product than shampoo and conditioner. Cary already hated her.

"Hi," said Kasumi. She pursed her lips as if struggling to remember the newcomer's name. "Elizabeth?"

"That is correct, but call me Jade. Jade is less common so you will not mix me up with someone else as easily."

Kasumi said, "Would you like to sit?" and motioned toward an open space in the opposite corner from Cary. It was the optimal spot as Cary could check her out from a distance and not get caught as easily. The immaculate appearance of her uniform screamed about someone trying to make a good impression. But who was she trying to impress? Guardians didn't even have to participate in the placement exams.

Cee-Cee asked the newcomer, "Why Jade? Is that your favorite color?"

"It is a beautiful hue," said Jade with a smile, "but my middle name is Jadelyn. According to Dr. Kerr, I probably have an affinity for the color only because it is part of my name. How are all your duels going so far?"

That struck Cary as a weird question to ask straight out like that. Furthermore, Jade didn't have any food with her. Was she not eating? Seemed like a weird decision for someone assisting with the placement exams to skip lunch.

It didn't take psychic powers to interpret everyone's hesitance to respond as a sign that duels were a struggle so far. Cee-Cee had no problem saying, "Bad luck on my first duel but I killed it in the second."

"That is good news. Are you ready for Round 3?"

Cee-Cee shrugged without changing her expression. "As ready as I always am."

"Good to hear." Jade looked to Kasumi next. "How about you, Kasumi?"

Cary thought about rescuing her roommate after a moment of hemming and hawing, but her phone buzzed and stole her attention. How was it two o'clock already? The day was flying by. She couldn't help a sneer as she looked at the message that just hit her inbox. Now Cary knew her next opponent, and she was bothered by the timing. She only had ten minutes to prepare and meet up with her third-round opponent! That was hardly enough time to research his deck and strategy and then respond accordingly with her side deck. And her opponent was Jim Carr—not only a top-ranked Obelisk Blue but also a former Guardian Duelist before he lost _Uria, Lord of Searing Flames_ to Yul Tan.

But on the upside, she noticed the room. Her final duel was to take place in the basement arena—the big leagues! She was finally going to get to show off in the only room filled with stadium seating for spectators to see how well she dueled. This was her chance to claim an immutable rank and show the entire school that she meant to be the absolute best.

She showed her phone to Kasumi.

Kasumi understood as soon as she read the message and didn't object. "Oh, no. You've got to get going." She turned to explain to the others why Cary was eagerly bolting from the table so no one else would be offended by it. Jade would have to limit her student psychologist roleplay with the other girls.

Phone in hand as she scrambled, Cary began searching for information. _I know the name Jim Carr. That's the guy who tried to take Dave's god card during the first area duel of the semester. He struck me as overrated, but Dave claimed he was nervous the whole time._

 _Son of a bitch! There's no need for four people to walk side-by-side down the aisle. Excuse me, Mr. Entitled._ Walking to the cafeteria exit was impossible the way some people walked, like there was no one else in the world.

 _Okay, Carr used a Ghostrick deck against Dave, but he used to run a Shaddoll theme. If he built the Ghostrick deck just for Dave, will he use that again here?_ Scrolling through the Duel Academy app and clicking buttons related to the placement exams, she continued, _Where are the results from his previous rounds?_

 _Oh, come on. The best place you could find to stop and talk to each other was right in the middle of the fucking doorway? Thank you, jackass._ Cary never said a word, but anyone who saw her facial expressions would know exactly what she was thinking about the crowds and the obnoxious way they drifted, oblivious to other people around them.

Scrambling to the arena, she gave up researching Jim's deck. The app was too complex to present the information straight to her fingertips, and she didn't have the time to navigate. It was safe to assume he was committed to the Ghostrick deck. If he thought it was good enough to beat Dave and Exodia, then he must believe it was also sufficient to beat most of the other students on campus. Now the question was what cards she should use against him. Trading a few cards with her side deck had helped against Mitch Zielinski. But how to disrupt Jim's play style...? Ghostricks mostly relied on flipping face-down and changing battle positions. Did she have any cards to prevent that? She could swap in Dark Simorgh. Was that enough? Not a lot of her Dragunity support offered the right kind of benefit to stop Ghostricks. Maybe she should leave her deck alone and just hope to get out another one-turn kill.

She had been to the basement arena several times to witness area duels, yet stepping past the threshold as a competitor still gave her a sense of awe. The change in her role this time gave her a brief, emotional pause. Suppressing the lump in her throat was harder than she expected. No matter how many times the banners and the colors came into view, the feeling was totally different now that she was going to be on the stage at the center of attention.

Technically, the room had three duel stations set up for placement exams, each one smaller than the primary arena but still large enough to see the cards on any of them from the stadium seats. She found her name at the third station where Dr. Houtz had everything all set up for her. Duel Academy's gothic professor invited her to sit while they waited for Jim to show up, but Cary was more comfortable standing and reviewing her deck.

They didn't wait long for her opponent to arrive. He sauntered in at a slovenly pace right at the scheduled time. Being early was not an option for Jim Carr. Doing so was only a waste of the time he could be doing something more interesting and enjoyable. His eyes indicated he would make an exception in Cary's case, however.

"Wow, look at you," he said, his gaze clearly guided lower than her eyes.

"Excuse me, young man," said Dr. Houtz. "Don't be rude."

He looked away from Cary's breasts long enough to smile at her eyes and at Dr. Houtz. "Believe me, it's a compliment. You are too cute to be related to Dave Strickland."

Cary rolled her eyes. "Charming."

"Settle your hormones or you'll face the counselor's office, understood? Let's get the duel started," said Dr. Houtz. She glanced at Cary. "Your fans are waiting." Cary turned to the stands to see what kind of "fans" were actually there. A few Neanderthal-looking guys must have been there to support Jim, as was a small pocket of girls several rows away. She caught sight of Bryan and Matt waving in her direction like excited children, but after she scowled at them, she averted her gaze to avoid the misconception that she actually cared whether anyone was there to cheer for her.

Jim leered. "No chance you want to bet a date on my win here?"

"A regular date, or an intimate date?" asked Cary.

"I kinda prefer the latter, but either works," he said.

She smirked, but not because she was intrigued. More like she found the request so pathetic she barely contained herself from laughing at him. "Pass."

"Your loss, Baby Dave," he said. He slid into his seat and produced his deck from his belt. "Want to shuffle for me?"

To avoid unnecessary innuendo, Dr. Houtz claimed the deck from him. "I'll take care of that." She shuffled Jim's deck while he wore a forlorn expression, and then she shuffled Cary's deck while she smirked. "You two know the rules. Jim gets the first turn." She pointed at the duel monitor when she explained. "Good luck."

The duel station lit up, humming as the hologram projectors and the immersion sensors activated. Sitting here, in the stadium, with so much empty space around her, it may have been the first time since her earliest duels that Cary even noticed the sound. She squeezed a fist to settle her nerves. Senior duelist or otherwise, Jim was just a lecherous, teenage boy. He wasn't someone to fear.

Jim pulled a card from his hand. "I'll set one monster and two other cards." He leaned back in his seat, slouching heavily enough to topple the chair over backward.

"Is that all?"

"For now, yeah. Were you hoping to get something outta me?"

Cary shook her head. "Just making sure I don't knock you out too soon. _Dragunity Brandistock_ (1: 600/400)." Her monster was a small, blue-skinned dragon wearing pointed armor that gave it the impression of a spear. "Tribute Brandistock to summon _Dragunity Arma Mystletainn_ (6: 2100/1500)." Her small dragon was replaced by a larger dragon equipped with golden armor and a lengthy, curved blade. After loosing a roar, Mystletainn equipped itself with the armored body of Brandistock as a gauntlet.

"Neat trick," said Jim.

Cary rolled her eyes. "Like you don't know by now." As a senior, he should have plenty of knowledge of the Dragunity series of cards. She continued her turn by setting a card face-down and activating _Synchronized Realm_. A small opening appeared in the sky over her monster.

And she smiled when she realized she had her support to counter the Ghostrick cards. If Jim was going to set every monster in defense mode, she was going to pierce that shell. " _Fairy Meteor Crush_." A meteor fell from the sky and collided with the ground right behind Mystletainn. Cary thought she smelled fire and sulfur. The glow from the meteorite passed into her monster, giving it the ability to strike through to Jim's Life Points even when his monsters were in defense mode.

As Mystletainn (2100) moved to strike, Jim enacted his countermeasure. "I'll use _Ghostrick Scare_." He flipped face-up his _Ghostrick Jiangshi_ (3: 400/1800), a child-like, pale-skinned vampire that jumped into the air and floated in a supine position, as if sleeping were a defensive measure. The initial behavior shocked Cary's monster so that it retreated inside its own armor, switching into face-down defense position. The _Fairy Meteor Crush_ and _Dragunity Brandistock_ disappeared into the graveyard. "On toppa that, Jiangshi's effect moves _Ghostrick Lantern_ (1) to my hand."

Cary bit her lip. She had tried to take the initiative, but Jim had managed to undercut her for a turn. She would have to count on her future turns giving her the cards she needed. "That's all."

"Alright," said Jim. He sat up to draw his next card and lean over the table while he thought about what to play. He shrugged his shoulders and sat slumped over with a hand on both sides of his cards like someone trying to prevent kibitzing. When he made a move, he moved the one card to his right hand and shifted the rest to his left.

"Let's play _Ghostrick Mansion_." When he placed his card in the field spell zone, the entire field transformed into a haunted house. Dusty furniture resembled what everyone saw in the Duel Academy lounge every day, save for the torn upholstery and lopsided screws and the lights were permanently out. It was the perfect environment when he turned his _Ghostrick Jiangshi_ (3: 400/1800) back into attack mode.

"Next up, I'll get some more cards when I summon _Tour Guide From the Underworld_ (3: 1000/600)." He summoned a uniformed lady who stood in front of a ghastly-looking bus. She carried a speaker by her side to make sure she could be heard when she spoke. "With her effect, I'll add a second one to the field." An identical bus pulled up, and the Tour Guide's twin stepped out. But then the two buses merged into a single parking space. "I'll overlay the two so I can play _Ghostrick Alucard_ (3: 1800/1600)." Humanoid in shape, the ghostly being had glowing eyes and fangs like a vampire. The creature curled in one arm and then popped out the elbow, snapping his fingers. In the same instant, Cary's face-down trap card caught fire. "By removing one Xyz material, your face-down card is destroyed." Not that it was helpful to Cary with her monster face-down, anyway.

Jim's smile was somehow dopey and smug at the same time. Maybe it was only smug because it annoyed Cary that someone so simple was in control of the duel so far. She felt each direct attack from his two monsters as pangs of frustration that she tried to hide—tried in vain, considering her best feature was her expressive face. Jim was far from offended. The school was dedicated to raising the anxiety levels of the best duelists. He was used to seeing that kind of reaction.

Cary 5800: Jim 8000

"Before I end my turn, I'll put Jiangshi face-down again."

The _Ghostrick Mansion_ was a challenge for Cary. It was that ability which let Jim's monsters bypass hers for two direct attacks. In addition, all attacks she landed would be cut in half while the Ghostricks were free to deal full damage. A normal Dragunity OTK suddenly became a two-turn kill by necessity. More reason Jim Carr annoyed her.

" _Junk Synchron_ (3: 1300/500)," she said, summoning a mechanical monster that looked a bit like a mechanic himself. "Special summon _Dragunity Brandistock_ (1: 600/400)." Junk Synchron brought back the armored dragonling from the graveyard, giving Cary more available weapons. "Flip Mystletainn (6: 2100/1500) face-up again." Her dragon with the golden armor reappeared, ready to strike against Ghostrick Alucard (1800).

"Sorry, babe. Flip it right back down again," said Jim as he revealed a second copy of _Ghostrick Scare_. He flipped up his Jiangshi, and the shock and awe of the event forced Mystletainn to retreat face-down. "And since my Jiangshi flipped up again, I get to bring _Ghostrick Specter_ (1) to my hand."

Cary grunted, clearly annoyed by the situation. When Jim kept her monster face-down, she couldn't do anything to gain momentum. Attacking with and even synchronizing her monsters were both off the table. Grudgingly, she waved the turn player over to Jim.

He smiled at her. "Don't take it too hard. I was ready for you coming into this duel." She couldn't believe that! How could he prepare for a duel in less than ten minutes when he barely even sauntered in on time? He had to be jerking her around just to play on her frustrations.

"I'll throw _Ghostrick Witch_ (2: 1200/200) into the mix here. Her effect lets me turn any of your monsters face-down." His new monster was a tiny girl in black witch's clothes with a broom in hand. She pointed her broom at _Junk Synchron_ and released a stream of magical energy. The energy was so heavy it forced Cary's monster to fall to the ground and turn face-down. "I'll also reuse Alucard's effect to destroy your big dragon." It wasn't specific, but he tapped the monitor to indicate Mysteltainn as the target of Alucard's magic; the card shattered and left the field. "Gotta finish building my army, so Jiangshi (400) moves to attack mode again.

"Unfortunately, _Ghostrick Mansion_ won't let me attack directly as long as you have a monster face-up, so I have to send Witch (1200) to destroy your Brandistock (400) character." Witch swung her broom out again and tossed a ball of magic. The spell transformed Cary's dragon into a small toad, which scampered off the field and disappeared. Alucard (1800) and Jiangshi (400) landed two more direct attacks afterward, amplifying the frustration Cary felt: toward the cards, toward Jim, and toward herself for not playing this hand better. Jim set Jiangshi face-down again to end his turn. Despite her ability to do the same, Witch remained face-up.

Cary 3600: Jim 8000

As soon as her turn started, Cary flipped Junk Synchron (1300) face-up, but she found herself unable to attack with him because of Alucard's effect: The vampire was so entrancing that all monsters could only focus their attention on him. And at the moment, Cary had no other cards in hand that would clear the field. On the other hand, Alucard had no more Xyz materials, so his effect was complete. Cary had one trap she could set, and just maybe that would hold her for one more turn. She just had to pray that next card would give her the swarming effect she needed.

"Sorry to see you can't do more than that," said Jim, "but I guess my Ghostricks did sorta stall you for a bit with all the face-down flipping, huh?" He actually waited a moment for a response, but Cary wasn't offering anything beyond a raised eyebrow. "Don't worry, Baby Dave. We're almost done. First, Witch's effect puts your monster face-down again." Once more, his Witch cast a spell that pulled her monster to the ground and then face-down. "Next I flip Jiangshi (400) and use his ability to get Ghostrick Stein (3) to my hand.

"Now we get to the best part. I'll play _Ghostrick Mummy_ (3: 1500/0)." A poorly-wrapped corpse appeared, tongue lolling out of its mouth. "This one's effect gives me a second summon for the turn so I can play _Ghostrick Specter_ (1: 600/0)." This monster looked like a little kid's effort to make a ghost costume: just a sheet over the head with two eyes drawn on in marker. Mummy (3) grabbed Jiangshi (3) and held the young vampire over its head. "Now I overlay these two monsters to summon a second _Ghostrick Alucard_ (3: 1800/1600)."

"No," said Cary. "Compulsory Evacuation Device." Triggering her face-down card, an air cannon sucked in his monster and blew it straight into the sky and, in theory back to his hand—except players can't hold Xyz monsters, so Alucard actually returned to the extra deck.

"Good thinking," said Jim. "Without an Alucard that has his xyz materials, your monster is safe from instantaneous destruction. The only problem on your end—and it's a very nice end, if your legs are any indication… What was I saying?"

 _Oh, my god,_ Cary groaned to herself as she rolled her eyes heavily.

"Oh, right. _Ghostrick Mansion_ still lets me attack directly as long as your monsters are face-down." His surviving Alucard (1800), Witch (1200), and Specter (600) each landed direct attacks that had the devastating effect of bringing Cary's Life Points and her self-pride all the way to 0.

Cary 0: Jim 8000

Cary all but froze in place. For once, her expression was completely blank. She didn't know how to react. By no means was this her first-ever loss in dueling, but it was exceedingly rare with her Dragunity cards. And she never expected it against Jim Carr. The guy was practically a womanizing boozehound, which was an impressive reputation for a dry campus. No one was even sure how he procured alcohol on an isolated Pacific island.

"Good game there, Baby Dave," said Jim. He extended his hand again, first with an overhand grip like he wanted to grope her but then shifting his wrist for a legitimate handshake. "I'd be happy to spend some private time with you going over our respective strategies and discussing how this duel went. Maybe you could wear something slinky."

Dr. Houtz cleared her throat. It was an effective method of disrupting Jim's train of thought and stopping the verbal foreplay before it got any further. She berated Jim's behavior, but Cary missed every word of it.

Cary's mind was a torrent. All her hard work fell short for a duel that potentially counted the most. Was it better that she won her first two duels and lost the third, or would she achieve a higher rank if she had lost the first round and won both subsequent duels? Even better would be winning all three duels. How did she lose against a pig like Jim Carr?

Dr. Houtz asked her, "Everything alright?"

Finally Cary responded. All she could muster was a shallow nod.

Jim muttered, "Your eyes look like they're on fire."

"Helping or hurting, Jim?" asked Dr. Houtz. She placed a comforting hand on Cary's shoulder. "Losing is nothing to be ashamed of. Every opponent on this campus is on the level of professional duelists. You've already achieved high ranks just by coming to the main arena."

Cary looked up into the stands. Matt and Bryan were looking elsewhere in the stadium, commenting on another duel. Bryan caught her eye and wave excitedly, followed by a thumbs-up. What a putz.

Dr. Houtz urged her not to look at everyone else. "No one else matters. Your skill speaks for itself. Why don't you take a seat right here in the front row and watch some other people duel?"

"I'm okay," said Cary. She collected her cards slowly.

"That's good to hear but your eyes say differently, sweetie." She helped Cary up and led her to the stands, keeping a calm hand on her even though Cary tried eagerly to pull away. "Sit right here and let's talk for a minute. What are you thinking right now?"

Cary shrugged, but her face told the whole story. She was pissed. "I hate Carr right now."

Dr. Houtz nodded. "Because of the outcome?"

"Yeah. Dave beat him."

"Don't compare yourself to Dave. That's not fair to yourself."

Cary made a face. What kind of advice was that, to tell Duel Academy students not to compare themselves to their classmates? That was literally the point to duels. Cary watched the next two duelists wander up to the duel station she had just left.

Dr. Houtz gave her shoulder a squeeze. "I need to proctor the next exam, alright? I will be around and available to talk. In the event I'm busy and you want to talk to someone, please find another faculty member or one of the students in the green jacket, okay?"

She hated being patronized, but worse was hating that she brought it on herself. How could she have gotten so emotionally invested in this exam that a single loss devastated her so? It was a scenario she had seen a thousand times in people she viewed as pitiful, and yet here she lived it out herself. Disgraceful. Cary nodded her acknowledgement and watched Dr. Houtz head back to the duel station. Getting over this loss would be no easy accomplishment, but she needed it to happen.

* * *

Kenny didn't look intimidating from the outside. He wore a big smile, accented by his dimples. The collar of his jacket looked brand new—possibly it was a jacket he broke out specifically for the placement exams or else he was the only freshman boy who knew how to iron his clothes. His reputation as the top-rated Slifer duelist preceded him, but his appearance undermined the impression.

"E-Hero Bryan," said the guy. His hands were big—chubby compared with Bryan's football player hands. His grip was far from strong, yet Bryan noticed no tremble at all, like confidence was not a lacking trait.

"Cowboy Kenny," replied Bryan.

Kenny chuckled. "You musta seen my hat."

"It is your most prominent feature." In fact, it was the only way Bryan could identify Kenny without getting to know him. He had first spotted him in the Intro to Dueling class, curious why anyone would wear a Stetson indoors. Even though Bryan had never spoken directly to Kenny yet, he always knew how to find him in a crowded room. For just a moment, he hadn't recognized Kenny today without the hat.

"Yeah, I guess it would be," said Kenny with a hardy chuckle.

Bryan bobbed his head slowly—not really a nod but accepting the behavior Kenny was exhibiting. "You're nothing like what I expected when I was told you had the top exam scores of all the incoming Slifers."

Kenny waved off the implied praise. "Scores don't mean much in the long run. I just do what I can in the moment and see where it takes me. On that one day, it put me at the top of the test-takers. So far today it hasn't availed me to the same extent."

"Oh, really?"

"I won the first round against a Ra Yellow duelist, but then I lost to Fats. You know him, right? I think he's in your suite."

"He sure is. Funny story: I lost to Fats, too. Maybe that's how we got paired up for this final duel."

"I bet that's it. You wanna get started?" Kenny glanced at the screen. "Looks like I'm up first. Sorry 'bout that." He looked over his cards for a second. As soon as he placed a card on the duel station, Bryan's field burst into flame. Heat licked him from the immersion sensors. "Don't know if you heard about my deck yet. It's called Burn style."

"Makes sense," said Bryan. He looked up the card info on the monitor. _Ookazi_ was a spell with only one effect: 800 LP damage to the opponent.

Bryan 7200: Kenny 8000

When Kenny laid down a second card, another fire raged throughout the field. This one was uncontrollable, leaving Kenny's side almost just as badly burned as Bryan's. The card was _Tremendous Fire_ , hitting Bryan for 1000 LP and Kenny for half that.

Bryan 6200: Kenny 7500

Kenny put one card face-down in the spell zone and then he placed another one face-up. A bright light shone in the sky over Bryan's field just before three swords rained down in triangular formation. Each sword was made of pure light and blinded Bryan if he looked directly at them. _Swords of Revealing Light_ was a card so classic that even he didn't need to look it up. Kenny aimed to make sure he could throw as many fires as he wanted while Bryan couldn't fight back.

He ended his turn playing a monster wearing a blue skirt, a red mantle, and a giant mirror over its chest. Six additional mirrors circled its body from head to shoulder to arm to stomach and back up, plus two mirrors were spotted on its palms. _Reflect Bounder_ (4: 1700/1000), Bryan read on the monitor—another card intended to deal direct damage his way if he outlasted the Swords and bothered to attack.

"Not much of a talker when you play, are you?"

"Nah. I'm more a thinker then. Makes the duel go a bit smoother mosta the time."

"Got it. Maybe I'll give that a shot." In reality Bryan loved talking. He had found his way to lead roles in every school play since the first grade because he loved having all the speaking lines. For reference, first grade was a circus play, and he was the ring master, one of very few speaking parts at all and one he still recalled fondly.

Taking his turn and trying not to say a word, Bryan merely placed a monster and one other card face-down. That was all he had since he couldn't attack anyway. One of the Swords blinked out, but the other two were just as blinding as ever.

Kenny set a second monster and then had his _Reflect Bounder_ (1700) attack by focusing reflections of light onto a single spot like a mirror death ray. Bryan's defense monster was _Elemental Hero Avian_ (1000), not strong enough to withstand the attack. His solar destruction was not without merit, however; Bryan flipped his face-down card and threw an elaborate _Hero Signal_ into the cloudy sky over his field. Responding to the call, the blocky form of _Elemental Hero Clayman_ (4: 800/2000) made its way to the field, striking a defensive pose like a mud wall to protect Bryan.

Bryan was surprised to see himself get to the second turn without additional damage. Maybe the weakness to Kenny's Burn style was that his deck wasn't as fast as, say, Tamah's deck with all the special summoning. He felt some of Dave and Andy's advice from earlier actually sinking in, and the thought excited him. No matter the outcome of this duel, he couldn't wait to start rebuilding his deck into something more solid.

"I've got nothing," said Bryan. He was gambling on Kenny carrying mostly weaker monsters that dealt direct damage instead of fighters that could overcome Clayman's defense points.

Kenny couldn't prove Bryan's theory in one turn, but he did support it by playing another _Reflect Bounder_ (4: 1700/1000) to duplicate the efforts of the first one. But that was the only move he had to make. Either Kenny was building up something heavy, or his deck was already out of steam.

"Still nothing," said Bryan. "I mean, uh…" He sliced the air horizontally with his hand to suggest he was finished. Clayman was still stronger than both Reflect Bounders, plus he couldn't attack with any monsters while those Swords remained on the field. Fortunately, the instant Bryan's turn ended, the third Sword burst, fading away and leaving the field looking much grimmer than when it was illuminated seconds earlier.

For Kenny's follow-up, he did nothing but to set one card in the backfield for spells and traps. Bryan wondered what that could be. Probably something to deal direct damage.

Now that the Swords were gone, attacking was an option again. Kind of, anyway. Most of the Elemental Heroes weren't as strong as a Reflect Bounder, and Bryan was struggling through another hand full of spells that weren't offering the versatility in play that he wanted. Yet another reason he couldn't wait to rebuild after the conclusion of the event. All he had to play that turn was _E – Emergency Call_ to retrieve Bladedge from his deck. Not only would that put a monster stronger than the Reflect Bounder in his hand, but it also removed one card from his deck. Now any card he drew was two percent likelier to be something he needed.

Bladedge needed two tributes to summon, though. _The Warrior Returning Alive_ brought him Avian back from the graveyard. Mentally crossing his fingers, Bryan put Avian on the field in defense mode with the hope that if he placed a card face-down in the trap zone, he could bluff his way to summoning Bladedge next turn.

Kenny picked up his next card and barely glanced at it before he placed a card on the table. Turns out Bryan had stepped right into his trap by putting two monsters on the field: Clayman and Avian both disappeared and the _Lava Golem_ (8: 3000/2500) rose in their place. Towering over the field, the giant was nothing more than a mass of molten lava, dribbling its essence everywhere.

Bryan balked. He couldn't believe that Kenny would bother giving him such a powerful monster for free. But then he remembered the stories of the Lava Golem and knew that its strength level was just a side effect: The focus was all that lava dripping from its lumbering arms that would damage Bryan with each passing turn. On top of that, with _Reflect Bounder_ as the only attack target, all of that strength would mirror right back onto Bryan's LP if he did battle.

But the decision whether or not to attack was made without him. Kenny brightened the field again with another copy of _Swords of Revealing Light_ , restraining Bryan's massive monster for three more turns. Bryan's turn came and went without a play for him to make except for dodging a stray glob of lava.

Bryan 5200: Kenny 7500

Kenny decided to wait another turn, too. Between the Swords, two Reflect Bounders, and puddles of lava drizzling over his opponent, he didn't see a need to rush through the rest of his cards.

When Bryan looked at his next card and watched more Lava melt his side of the ground, he broke his silence again. "Ye-heah!" he blurted, stretching the word into two syllables. " _O – Oversoul_ , baby!" A giant O formed in the center of the field, acting as a portal straight into the underworld. Avian (1000) flew through the opening and found footing back in the world of the living beside the _Lava Golem_. Now that he had two monsters, he swept them both aside to summon _Elemental Hero Bladedge_ (7: 2600/1800). His warrior bore an entire suit of golden armor, with bladed wings on his back and two, curved cleavers protruding from his elbows. But even though one of the Swords had faded, the other two were still strong enough to hold Bladedge in place.

Bryan 4200: Kenny 7500

For all his talk of Burn style, Kenny did nothing except place one more card face-down. He still hadn't even activated the last one.

"Your deck not coming through for you?" asked Bryan.

"It's a slow duel, to be sure."

"Same here. Some duels are better than others, no doubt."

As Bryan checked his hand, he found himself going a little crazy wondering what Kenny's cards were. How was a guy with such a reputation taking this duel so slowly? Did he even have a real trap? As soon as Bryan's turn ended, that last Sword would fade away and he could finally attempt the offensive.

Kenny took another pass. If anything, watching Kenny pass and pass again further encouraged Bryan to increase the speed of his deck. The ability to draw a card and feel like it didn't help was his worst situation. He never realized how rough, boring, and frustrating such an outcome was until he dueled an opponent with the same deficit. No wonder so many people hated watching him duel.

On Bryan's turn, he finally put together a strategy to attack, and it wouldn't involve the risk of reflecting his monster's attack strength back at him. "Raigeki!" he said, perhaps with too much excitement. A thunderstorm broke out across the field, striking down each of Kenny's mirrored monsters in turn. The voltage was too high for the mirrors to be any use; they melted before any damage could reflect. "Now I can summon _Elemental Hero Burstinatrix_ (3: 1200/800)." A pale-skinned lady in red tights hit the field like a ball of fire—the first fire of the duel that didn't harm Bryan.

It was time to force Kenny's hand. If his face-down cards were meant as protection, now was the time to use them. First Burstinatrix (1200) hurled a fireball at Kenny, and then Bladedge (2600) sliced his way across the field. At no point did Kenny make a move to defend himself.

Bryan 4200: Kenny 3700

Kenny shook his head once, partly to stretch his neck and partly to indicate that he didn't have a strong move ready. All he could do was to set one monster face-down.

"Let's do this," said Bryan. "I'll play _The Warrior Returning Alive_ to pull Avian back into my hand." Avian clawed his way back out of the graveyard again, this time not assuming a position on the field but in Bryan's hand.

"There we go," said Kenny. "I play _Skull Invitation_." A rift opened in the air of Kenny's backfield. Beyond the rift was pitch blackness, but the head of a horned demon leaned out into the open air. With a single finger, the demon beckoned Bryan to join the darkness.

Since Kenny wasn't a talker, Bryan had to check the monitor to remember what the effect was of that card. Whenever a card went to the graveyard—including _The Warrior Returning Alive_ —the owner would suffer 300 points of damage.

"That's a…nnoying," said Bryan, hesitating through the word. "I'll also play _Polymerization_ to fuse Burstinatrix with Avian." Watching the spatial rift that absorbed the bodies of his two monsters and merged them into a single warrior with winged and draconic features, Bryan smiled at his _Elemental Hero Flame Wingman_ (6: 2100/1600) while grimacing at the 900 points of damage inflicted by the demon that took his three fusion components into the darkness.

"Guess I forgot about that part," he noted. But then he sent Flame Wingman (2100) to attack. Whatever Kenny's monster was, its destruction would still result in LP damage because of Flame Wingman's effect.

Unless the attack failed to destroy the monster involved: a skeletal figure clad in purple robes and carrying a powerful scythe. _Spirit Reaper_ (3: 300/200) was a known card to anyone who ever ran a stall strategy. Among all its effects, the most common and popular was its ability to defend. Unfortunately, it could not defend against the knives of Bladedge (2600), which overran the tiny reaper and pierced through to Kenny's Life Points.

Bryan 3000: Kenny 1300

Kenny looked at his hand and smiled while he played _Ookazi_ , setting fire to Bryan's field again, and then he set one monster face-down.

Bryan 2200: Kenny 1000

"Um… Bladedge (2600) can still attack again," said Bryan. He didn't make any other moves except to watch his warrior slice and dice the Grim Reaper once more. As an ending, it felt somewhat anti-climactic—a feeling he realized had plagued his deck at least as far back as his practical application exam and probably long before.

"Fact of the matter is," explained Kenny, "sometimes the cards just aren't there. Slow duels like this one are actually the most common."

"Really? I feel like that hasn't been my experience. Every major duel on TV seems like someone plays a crazy-rare card every turn."

Kenny laughed. "Well, the guys on TV are experts, masters of the game. That's what we're trying to get by schooling here. At the amateur level, however, slow duels are commonplace."

Bryan shook his head. "I still can't think of many. Most of my duels are over quickly, and Matt basically destroys everybody in only a handful of turns."

"In Matt's case, he has the fast, powerful deck, I s'pose. But in your case, I'd guess you're the one gettin' beat. If your deck is that slow, it don't matter how slow someone else is."

Making a face in response to the veiled insult, Bryan said, "Hey. I just beat you, ya know?"

"I remember. It was 'bout thirty seconds ago. Just sayin'. Anyway, good duel. I hope your rank comes out where you want it. I obviously got a lotta work to do." The funny thing was how sincere Kenny struck him during that exchange. There was no sarcasm or veiled malignance at all. Was Kenny inordinately nice? Or did Bryan maybe need to spend less time with Matt to remember how the average person behaves around human beings?

But Kenny's remark reminded him: He had won. For the second time since arriving on the island, Bryan had dueled to victory! Matt grinned at him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Way to go, bro. You're the man."

"Thanks!" He had forgotten that Matt was in the back of the room watching the whole time, except for the moments when he chatted up Kasumi. "Have I finally found my groove?"

"You know what you have? This morning you won a duel. Now you have two in a row. If you win one more time, that's a winning streak."

"Sweet! I've always wanted one of those. You think this will be a habit for me now? Will I be as good as you?"

"Possibly. You might be putting the cart before the horse. Didn't Arbus warn you to start with small goals and slowly build up? Your next goal should be for one more win, probably against another Slifer."

Bryan knew he was right. He solemnly listened to the words and nodded. "No, fuck that. Slifers are boring. I want a god card."

Matt didn't berate him or even roll his eyes. He just smiled. "Then do it." He looked at his phone for the time. "Probably time for me to head downstairs."

"What time does your duel start?"

"If I account for Daylight Savings Time and the adjustment of Pacific time zones compared with home, it was five minutes ago."

"Shit, dude. You'd better run."

"Actually that's a safety violation. I'm confident the duel won't start without me. I'll just have to make up the time by skipping the small talk with my judge and opponent." He snapped his fingers, a sarcastic maneuver meant to imply he was saddened-but-not-saddened. He offered Bryan a quick, two-finger salute that mutated into him pointing into the air as he walked out of the room.

Bryan wanted to see Matt's duel, but he was brimming with excitement and needed to burn off some of it. Lucy was the only Guardian Dueler currently in the room, busy observing the closing plays of another duel. He would have preferred to talk to Erica or Andy, but she would do. Better to make friends with all of them if he wanted to move into their Guardhouse.

"Hey," he said excitedly as he tapped her shoulder. She only glanced in his direction at first, but she did a double take and smiled brightly. She must have picked up on his energy. "I just won my second duel."

"Congratulations," she said.

"I'm going to challenge a Guardian Dueler."

"Do it," was her only reply. And that pretty much sealed the decision for him.

* * *

By the time Matt returned to the basement arena and found Stage 2, his opponent was looking pretty ragged. He knew the face from around campus, but their first meeting was actually a brief one from the cruise ride to the island. Rikuto wore a long, blue coat. He was to be Matt's second opponent dressed in Obelisk Blue. Much like Mitsuro before, he looked unhappy—but that might've just been her neutral expression showing at the time. Rikuto looked like he was sucking on a Sour Patch Kids.

So did Dr. Lankford. He barely broke his scowl as Matt skirted by. "Running late, Mr. Luther."

"I had to watch the end of Bryan's last duel."

"He'll have other duels."

"But the stakes won't always be as high."

"We all adhere to the schedule."

"Perhaps next year the schedule can be blocked instead of streaming to allow for breaks and more structured viewing of other duels."

"Your suggestion is noted. Unfortunately, you only have fifteen minutes left in your time block."

Matt smirked. "Thirteen more minutes than I need." He let the boast stand, but he secretly hated himself for using hyperbole. That made him easy to disprove. His victory might take only two minutes if they didn't use the hologram tables. Those lights really slowed things down between plays.

When Rikuto accepted Matt's handshake, he sneered. "Dueling a Slifer."

"Had no idea you'd fallen so far in the rankings, did you?" asked Matt in self-deprecating reply. "I'll get a complex if that's the only way everyone sees me."

"Why you do not zip your coat?" True to his question, Matt was the only student wandering around in anything less than full, professional Duel Academy appearance. He grudgingly wore the Duel Academy garb, from black pants and shirt to the red jacket, but he had refused to zip any of it up that morning… until the moment his pants fell from his waist, and then he had agreed to zip them up. But the coat was a suffocating presence, he claimed.

"I can't breathe with it on."

"Get a bigger size."

Matt chuckled. "Do you think I'm just _made_ of money?"

"Trade-in."

"And wear someone else's armpit stains for the rest of the year? I'd rather be stuck living in the girl's dorm." At least that was no lie.

Rikuto was disappointed in himself and in the ranking system for matching him against such a slovenly, crude opponent. "You must have done something impressive to get this far. Or paid off a judge, but I guess not if you can't afford a jacket that fits."

Matt smiled. "No payoffs. All talent here, as I suspect is the case with you. Aren't you a member of Team OTK?"

Rikuto studied him momentarily. "I've not seen you before. Did you research me?"

"Not intentionally. We met briefly on the _Philyra_. I didn't stick around, but my pal Bryan talked me up a bit as a contender for the team. You told him you would check me out sometime."

A knowing nod pulled at the opponent. "Okay, somewhat familiar. Dark Magician deck, right? I know why I never followed through. Pretty sure I was just being polite."

Matt met the veiled insult with a smirk. "I'm intrigued to see how your OTK works. I've come close with my magicians a few times during these exams, but I never quite went the distance. Maybe I'll figure out how to finish cleanly if an expert shows me how."

"Happy to oblige a rookie. Too bad it can't be someone who can push my rank up higher along the way."

With a shrug, Matt said, "I guess you'll just have to settle for schooling a Slifer. I'm ready for the first lesson."

All the lights on the duel station lit up, and both duelists grabbed their opening cards. Given a single look at his hand, Rikuto said, "I set one monster and end my turn."

Matt flinched. "That's it? I learned that much from just one episode of any _Yu-Gi-Oh! Gaming_ TV show."

"The identity of the monster is the key," he said.

"I guess that makes sense. Well, I don't know if I can handle setting a monster correctly, so instead I'll summon _Magician's Rod_ (3: 1600/100) in attack mode." A tall, blue staff appeared on the field, standing without a hand to hold it as if suspended by the will of one not present. The jewel on top began to shine. "Now I get a card from my deck as long as it mentions Dark Magician. It's a tough choice here, but I'm going to take _Eternal Soul_. Of course, I don't even know how to summon a Dark Magician in my first turn, so I'll settle for using _Polymerization_ to fuse Dark Magician with Buster Blader and summon _Dark Paladin_ (8: 2900/2400)." A spatial rift on the field sucked in the spell caster and spit out a tall, lean magician whose black robes hardened into dragon-scale armor.

"Time to clear the field, right?" The standalone Rod (1600) blasted an energy wave onto the enemy monster, barely revealing the image of a pink watch battery with legs before said creature dissipated in the attack.

Rikuto said, "That was _Batteryman Micro-Cell_ (1: 100/100). You flipped it, so I summon _Batteryman AAA_ (4: 0/0)." Instead of a watch battery, now Rikuto was defended by a thin battery with tiny arms and legs.

"That seems like a profoundly unintimidating monster. Does anyone even use triple-A batteries anymore?" With a single swipe of his glaive, Matt's Paladin (2900) deftly cleaved AAA (0). "Not even any battery acid to clean up."

When Matt gave over the turn, Rikuto looked shocked. Matt knew exactly why. He held _Eternal Soul_ in his hand, so why not put it on the field? Holding off for a turn was Matt's attempt at strategy. The opponent knew about his card, so hiding it briefly might help to protect it.

Rikuto's turn was quick again. "I set two cards and another monster."

"You aren't going easy on me as a protest for dueling a Slifer, are you?" Rikuto's expression told an entire story of its own, a story ending in Matt's loss at the hands of misunderstanding the way a deck comes together. "Just in case you aren't, I'll tribute Rod for _Apprentice Illusion Magician_ (6: 2000/1700)." His female spell caster appeared on the field, showing a lot of leg and already charging a spell. She immediately swung her wand and tossed a ball of dark magic at Rikuto's monster.

Suddenly a monster cannon appeared beneath Matt's Paladin. A moment later, the _Dark Paladin_ was launched into the air and returned to the extra deck, no longer a threat to the enemy. " _Compulsory Evacuation Device_ ," said Rikuto. "Your monster goes back to your hand, or to the extra deck since you can't hold a fusion card."

"I got it." Matt was annoyed when he looked at the field. Rikuto's monster was still present and Apprentice still looked ready to rumble. Rikuto's trap had changed the number of monsters and triggered a Replay: The attack was nullified and the field reset, minus the missing Paladin. He had to watch again while his Magician threw another magic attack at Rikuto's _Batteryman AAA_ (0).

"You flipped my monster again, so I can summon another one." Once more, his spindly battery appeared to defend his Life Points.

"Three triple-A batteries," Matt muttered. "You must be ready to power the remote control now."

Rikuto grumbled, "Man, you never stop talking, do you?"

Matt smirked. "Just looking forward to this OTK of yours. You're still planning to show me, right?"

"Seriously, wow. If you're trying to mess with my head, you're wasting time. A Slifer Slacker can't get to me. I use _Monster Reborn_ to bring back _Batteryman AAA_ (1: 0/0)." As soon as his monster hit the field, he played another card. "Now I use _Inferno Reckless Summon_ to bring out two more." Now all three Batteryman monsters lined up like they were ready to fight… with zero attack points.

"Doesn't that card also let me duplicate a monster?" asked Matt. He placed another _Apprentice Illusion Magician_ (6: 2000/1700) on the field. "I know mine are more girly, but my monsters are a lot bigger than yours."

"The remote control crack? _Short Circuit_ activates only when there are three Batteryman on the field." Electricity erupted across the field, striking down both of Matt's monsters and leaving nothing but electrical wasteland behind. "Now I summon _Thunder King Rai-Oh_ (4: 1900/800) to attack you directly." The spark plug monster generated two massive rings of lightning that shot straight through to Matt's end of the duel station, giving the player a slight shock.

Matt 6100: Rikuto 8000

Matt made a face at the field. Those three Batteryman had no attack points at all, yet they broke his field worse than anything since Shane nearly trounced him. He was just lucky he hadn't wasted his _Eternal Soul_. Once again, that gut feeling of his paid dividends.

"I'll set one card and play my own _Monster Reborn_ to summon _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) from the graveyard." Standing tall and wielding a staff the same height, Matt's purple-clad spell caster glared down at his opponents. He picked out one _Batteryman AAA_ (0) and lunged, releasing a wave of dark magic that engulfed the field. Rai-Oh resisted the effect and the other AAAs barely slipped away from the ensuing explosion.

Matt 6100: Rikuto 5500

"Feel better now that you found your ace monster?"

"A smidge. I'm curious to see what else you can do with your batteries now that one is gone. Can you replace it with a pickle and an electrical current?"

"You're funny. I'll put all my monsters in defense mode and add one more, face-down. One more card face-down, too. Go ahead."

Matt responded to the onscreen prompt and triggered his _Eternal Soul_ during Rikuto's end phase. As the stone monolith rose from the ground, the enchanted etching shone in the same form as Matt's monster. "I'll use the effect to get _Dark Magic Attack_ from my deck." Rikuto grumbled something under his breath. Clearly he was annoyed to have let Matt bring his real ace card to the game.

"My turn," said Matt. "I'll start with _Dark Magic Attack_." His Magician swung his staff like a lacrosse stick and hurled a ball of black magic into the backfield. Rikuto's face-down card evaporated, leaving his monsters as his only defense. _Eternal Soul_ shone once more. "I'll move _Thousand Knives_ to my hand and activate it." Knives multiplied through the air and rained down on Rikuto's hidden monster, skewering it instantly. "One more attack." His Magician (2500) cast a magic attack that swallowed Rai-Oh (800) and faded away with him.

Rikuto nodded at his cards. "One more face-down and a monster in defense."

"This OTK is really underwhelming."

"Just remember who's wearing blue here."

"Yeah, right. The effect of _Eternal Soul_ summons another _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) this time." One in purple and one in black, two powerful wizards stood back-to-back in the light of the shining monolith, closing in on victory.

"And for my turn, _Eternal Soul_ brings me another _Dark Magic Attack_ to use." His Magicians teamed up, launching simultaneous waves of black magic to wipe out Rikuto's potential trap. Matt considered the two known entities staring him down from defense mode, but he wasn't terribly intimidated by 0 attack points. Rikuto's face-down monster, on the other hand, was a risk. "Let's attack that one." Magician P (2500) threw a spell, forcing the pink watch battery to reveal itself an instant before it was obliterated. "That was another Micro-Cell (100)," he recognized.

"It was," said Rikuto. "That means I can put _Batteryman AA_ (3: 0/+1000) in defense." Sized bigger than the other batteries with a 3 on its central body, this Batteryman had orange limbs and a head jolting with electricity.

Matt made a face. He didn't like the look of the new guy with the fluctuating defense points. His instinct told him this card was the key to Rikuto's OTK. "Finally a more common battery. Better eliminate that, too, for good measure." Magician B (2500) made short work of it with a single, overwhelming spell.

Rikuto smiled. "I hope that was fun. I'm summoning another _Thunder King Rai-Oh_ (4: 1900/800)." While the spark plug came to life on the field, Rikuto played another card. A pod-like capsule appeared on the field, brimming with electricity until the moment the pod opened and _Batteryman AA_ (0) popped out. " _Battery Charger_ lets me revive a Batteryman from my graveyard. And then I'll play another _Inferno Reckless Summon_ and call two more to the field." Three _Batteryman AA_ (+3000) stood side-by-side, feeding off one another's charge and growing ever-stronger as a result.

Matt 6100: Rikuto 5000

Matt grimaced as his third _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) hit the field, this time in defense mode. It was nice to see his three together again, but he knew Rikuto's play wouldn't stop there. As dangerous as three AAs were, they wouldn't end the duel alone.

"Here's some Batteryman support," added the OTK champion. A stone tablet appeared on one of the monsters, and its body grew larger. " _Unstable Evolution_ makes AA (+5400) start with 2400 points, but he still gets bonus points from the extra charge. Let's see the attacks." The large Batteryman (5400) reached out to a Magician (2500) and shocked it until it shattered and disappeared. Each of the Batteryman followed by destroying another Magician until the field was clear. Finally, Rai-Oh (1900) struck Matt directly with a piercing shock that escaped the table.

Matt 800: Rikuto 5000

Shaking off the shock was easy. Luckily the duel station didn't hit the player with a charge much higher than taking off a sweater in the winter. Anything worse would be a legal nightmare if the player had a pacemaker, after all. But Matt smiled as he shook his hand. "Did I accidentally mitigate your OTK?" he asked.

"For the moment. Few opponents get anything as strong as _Dark Magician_ when I use _Inferno Reckless Summon_. You still have to fight three AAs, though."

"Yeah, but one of them lost 1400 points. Your _Unstable Evolution_ card seems… I'm struggling to think of a word that means the points change."

"Unstable."

"Exactly!"

"Well, that happens when your Life Points drop below mine. But AA (+4000) still has a point bonus so there's no real downside."

"Cool story. Before you end your turn, though, I'll activate _Eternal Soul_." As the monolith shone, the purple _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) rose the grave. "Was I correct? Is that the end of your turn?"

"Yes."

"Oh, good. Then I'll send my Dark Magician to the graveyard so I can summon _Dark Magician Girl_ (6: +2900/1700)." In place of his wizard came a witch wearing similar clothes, although showing much more skin. Her wand crackled with the same level of dark magic as her mentor's staff. "And for good measure, _Eternal Soul_ brings back _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) one more time." Side-by-side, his two Magicians faced down the army of thunder-powered batteries. There's an odd sentence.

"Question: How much damage do I have to do for it to count as an OTK?"

Rikuto opened his palms as if to shrug off such an obvious answer. "8000 points."

"Oh, well, I can't hit that much right now. But I can fix the glaring hole in your strategy. You played _Short Circuit_ too early and didn't clear my field first. I'm going to play it instead. I mean, not _that_ card, but one that works the exact same way when my monsters are together. It's called _Dark Burning Magic_. You heard of it?"

"No."

"That's because it's new. This was my prize for finishing first in the state championship tournament back home. In a way, it was my ticket to attend Duel Academy. But I digress. By the power vested in this card, _Dark Magician_ (2500) and _Dark Magician Girl_ (+2600) combine their magic to obliterate all the cards you control." The usual black magic cast by either lone Magician was amplified by their dual presence. Magic built upon magic, creating ever-strengthening layers until it consumed everything in Rikuto's possession and then slowly faded to nothing. Matt just smirked. "Nice, right? Now they combine attacks—figuratively speaking, obviously." Paired attacks that were actually separated by the limits of the hologram projectors struck heavily on the field, dimming the lights and dropping Rikuto's Life Point counter.

Matt 800: Rikuto 0

Matt smirked evilly. "If I win, does that mean I'm in charge of Team OTK now?"

"Don't be a dick. Maybe you were misplaced when they sorted you into Slifer or maybe you just got lucky. You beat me in a single duel that could have just as easily gone my way."

Eyes darted back and forth as if looking for someone to translate. "Is that a yes or a no?" He could see the contempt growing in Rikuto's eyes. "In your defense: How much higher can your rank possibly get than captain of Team OTK?"

Rikuto guffawed. "I'm only vice-captain. Haruki Yagawa is the captain."

"Is that so? I'll have to look him up for an area duel."

"Do that and you'll realize just how lackluster your skills really are."

"Awesome. I hear that a lot. It'd be nice to find someone for once who can actually show me this level of suck everyone keeps promising to demonstrate."

Rikuto rolled his eyes. He just wasn't a big fan of the sarcasm when it came from someone else.

"At least your current rank explains how you ended up against a Slifer. You don't have much higher to rise whereas I have all of the room. All it takes is for you to lose once and have to face someone lower. That sets you on course to intercept my meteoric rise." He made face. "Kind of a weird phrase, don't you think? I understand that _meteoric_ is in reference to speed only, but gravity still affects them. They fall, not rise!"

"Go read a book," grunted Rikuto as he stormed away.

Matt made a face. "That was possibly the most polite 'fuck off' I've ever heard."

Minutes later, Matt had reconvened with Bryan and Justin. The Guardian clapped hands with him and then gave a friendly, excited bump on the shoulder. "That was great stuff out there. I used to be on Team OTK. Nothing drives those guys crazier than having all the cards and failing to pull the win."

"That's just Matt," said Bryan. "He oozes luck from every orifice."

"You paint such a pretty picture of me." Bryan hooked his arm around Matt's neck and tousled his hair.

Looking to Justin and his greater Duel Academy experience, Bryan asked, "So what's next? When do we find out if Matt is moving into Obelisk Blue?"

Matt pushed him away, rejecting the notion. "It'll probably take all weekend. Why do you think they do this on a Friday?"

Justin shook his head. "Not at all. That algorithm I told you about? It already has a score for you and a rank that constantly shifts based on everyone else's current total. It'll have your final score seconds after the judge's inputs are all added. You're looking to know your rank no later than seven o'clock at the exam debrief."

* * *

 **Had to leave off on enough of a cliff-hanger to keep you wondering what everyone's rank will be, but I'm so glad to be finished with the placement exams. I feel like these nine chapters have offered a good introduction to Bryan and Matt for sure, plus a decent start for Cary's character. Now we can finally get into the meat of the story plot.**

 **Thanks again to my readers and all who have contributed OCs. My opponents were all of my own creation this time (mostly callbacks to my previous version), but I did introduce Cee-Cee Silva from _HardWrapping_ and Jade Kincaid from _KingofJokers23_. As the story grows, so will the characters and the character base, so stay tuned!**


	10. Let's Team Up

Chapter 10: Let's Team Up

"Cards flew between these two champion duelists. The guy on the right played _The Gold Sarcophagus_ , put two cards face-down, and bet his life that he wouldn't lose instantly by leaving his field without a monster," spoke the narrator, deepening his voice specifically to mimic the guy who voices the trailers for big, blockbuster movies.

Matt groaned. "His life? Really?"

"Shh. There are no notes in these margins," Bryan reprimanded him.

"Fine. But can you drop the intrigue and replace 'the guy on the right' with 'Dave'? It's pretty obvious he used _The Gold Sarcophagus_ to get _Slifer the Sky Dragon_ ready."

Bryan frowned. "Damn. How did you know that?"

"Because you specifically went over there to ask them to duel against each other with their god cards. You wanted to see their god cards in action. You aren't good at hiding your excitement."

"Yeah, fine." Bryan hung his head for a moment, but he had still witnessed a badass duel, and that was exciting enough to reinvigorate him.

"So Andy played _Precious Cards from Beyond_ and then special summoned _Guardian Eatos_ (8: 2500/2500). Then he discarded _Hecatrice_ so he could get and then play _Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen_. Then he attacked, but Dave was like BAM! _Draining Shield_. Andy didn't care, though. He tossed a card face-down and was totally chill."

Dave 10,500: Andy 8000

"So then Dave just sets a card and leaves his field empty, making Andy pause, like, 'What is this guy thinking?' But he's cool about it. He doesn't take any chances and just attacks directly with Eatos. Dave doesn't stop him this time."

Dave 8000: Andy 8000

"On his next turn, Dave finally gets Slifer back from the Sarcophagus, but little does he realize that Andy's already holding onto Ra. He doesn't have any monsters yet, so he lets the turn go again. Now Andy knows he has to hurry, so he plays _Reckless Greed_ first and then _Celestial Transformation_ second. That gives him a second Eatos (-1250) at half power for one and a half direct attacks." He smirked and waited for Matt to acknowledge the word play—it was two attacks but one was only half-strength.

"I get it." Wearing a big, satisfied grin on his face, Bryan continued.

Dave 4250: Andy 8000

"So now Dave needs more cards, and monsters especially. He uses _Pot of Duality_ so he can pick and choose a little, ya know? He gets a _Marshmallon_ , which he throws on the field in defense mode. Not a bad pull, right? So now Andy's ready for the kill. He uses _Soul Charge_ to get two monsters out of his graveyard just so he can send all three away to summon _The Winged Dragon of Ra_ (10: +5900/+5900)!" Bryan actually put both hands in front of his mouth like a megaphone while he announced the name.

Dave 4250: Andy 100

Jack looked over and made a face. "What's with the fanfare? You haven't seen the card before?"

"Only on TV." He was sheepishly embarrassed for a second and then went back to giddy. "Where was I?"

"Ra is on the field," said Matt.

"Right! Ra is on the field, but he's only so powerful because Andy flushes almost all of his LP to power it up. So Dave needed more cards. He plays another _Pot of Duality_ , even though it stops him from special summoning for the turn. He does get a _Spirit Reaper_ , though, which he tosses in defense mode. Now he has two indestructible monsters. Andy didn't know about the second one, of course, so he attacks the _Spirit Reaper_ and flips it up. He was taunting Dave the whole time about how he remembered _Marshmallon_ was there. Dude's only got 100 LP so he can't afford to miss. So next turn, Dave throws _Swords of Revealing Light_. Andy can't do anything, so he puts a card face-down. Dave doesn't have much, so he puts a card down and ends his turn, too.

"Now Andy reveals _Solemn Wishes_. He draws and gets 500 LP for it. Suddenly he has a little more breathing room in the Life Point department. But Dave doesn't care about that. He shows his face-down card was Metal _Reflect Slime_ , which he uses with the other two monsters as tribute to summon _Slifer the Sky Dragon_ (10: +3000/+3000)!" Bryan punched downward at nothing and made an explosion sound, spitting all over the floor in the process.

Dave 4250: Andy 600

Matt blinked rapidly and then pretended to wipe spit from his face. After a brief moment of letting Bryan feel bad, he said, "Go on."

"Um… Yeah, so Dave plays another card, which means Slifer (-2000) gets weaker. He's already half the power of Ra, but it's worth it because Dave plays _March_ _of the Monarchs_. That means Slifer can't get destroyed by card effects. Now why would he want to play a card like that, huh?"

Jack groaned. "Do you want the obvious answer? That Dave didn't want Andy to play a card that instantly destroys Slifer? Plus, doesn't Ra have an instant-kill effect?" His second comment sounded like he just remembered it as he started talking.

Bryan sputtered. "It sounds obvious when you say it like that. Anyway, Andy draws again and gets another 500 LP from _Solemn Wishes_. He plays _The_ _Sanctuary in the Sky_ , which doesn't help Ra but it makes Andy feel better."

"It prevents battle damage if he plays a fairy monster," said Matt.

After a moment of stunned silence, Bryan tried to play it off like he already knew that's what the card did. "Everyone knows that. But more important is that Dave still has one more Sword. When Andy's turn ends, Dave has no defense against the big, bad Winged Dragon. Doesn't matter, though. Turns out one of Dave's face-down cards was _Dark Hole_ , which he uses to suck Ra into oblivion."

Matt frowned as he considered the play. Bryan noticed the look and got excited.

"You're wondering why Slifer wasn't destroyed, too, right? It's because of _March of the Monarchs_. Dave didn't play it to protect Slifer from Andy's cards; he played to protect it from his own cards."

Jack let slip, "Ah, yeah." He caught himself and said, "Duh."

"That's not what bothers me," said Matt. "If Dave had that card the whole time, why not play it sooner? There's nothing about _March of the Monarchs_ that makes you wait before you take advantage of it."

Impatient, Bryan grasped his fists. "I haven't even finished the story yet!"

Matt made a face. "Andy's monsters are all gone, he's trap-less, and Dave has a god card. Is there any way this story doesn't end with a direct attack from Slifer (+3000) to win?"

Dave 4250: Andy 0

Bryan remarked, "Maybe! I mean… No, but it could have."

"If you say so. So how cool was it to see two god cards go head-to-head?"

"It was cool," said Bryan, sounding decidedly less enthusiastic. "I mean, it would be better if they had used a duel station or a Duel Disk."

Jack scoffed. "You didn't even get to see them in holograph form?"

"Well, no. Andy and Dave said something about how the administration won't let them."

"That's bogus. They use the god cards in duels all the time."

"Not against each other," he added. Jack couldn't argue with that. "You'd think they would, but the faculty tells them not to use the gods against other gods. It wouldn't be a big deal to sneak around once in a while except the hologram readers record everything. There would be an instant notification in the system, which means they could prove Andy and Dave broke the rules. But tabletop duels aren't recorded, so they eked out one of those for me to watch. It was still awesome, and it felt so real. I could feel the heat coming off of Ra and the electricity from Slifer."

"You could not," said Matt, whining just a bit. "You just felt schoolgirl giddiness and mistook that for stories about cards made of magic."

Bryan pouted. "Whatever you want to believe, I know what I felt. And I felt awesomeness."

Jack groaned, "Not as awesome as holographs." It was a tough point to argue. Even Matt didn't try and he loved to argue.

Bryan said, "At least we got to see the hologram of Raviel, Lord of Phantasms that one time, right?"

Matt nodded and gave a noticeable shudder.

Bryan just about laughed at him. "What's wrong? You cold all of a sudden?"

"No. My train of thought took me from Raviel to Hamon to Erica to what it must be like to be on the receiving end of your over-the-top flirting style."

Frowning at him, Bryan said, "I'm forward but not over-the-top."

Jack didn't care one way or the other. But while they were on the topic of girls… "Was Lucy there?"

"Uh, I don't think so. It's hard to tell when she is. She stays in her room a lot. I rarely see her unless she goes to the kitchen or something."

Matt made a full body turn so he could peer inquisitively at Jack. Bryan still hadn't mentioned that Jack had the hots for Lucy. The three of them were just getting comfortable as forced roommates and now Bryan worried that the two of them chasing the same girl would accelerate the interpersonal friction.

He hurried past the subject. "So why do you think the faculty won't let anyone duel the god cards against each other? Are they haunted or something?" He knew that would change the subject. Matt couldn't help rejecting all superstitions and other mumbo-jumbo that had no basis in observable fact.

It worked. Matt slid right back around and gave Bryan the look of scientific condescension he had perfected. That look made Bryan feel the same way as answering a question wrong in front of the whole class. It was unsettling and almost made him regret inviting it on purpose.

"Bryan, we talked about whether the cards contain magic. What did we decide?"

"That they're-that they're not magic."

"Right. Despite the legends and mythologies behind them, there is no reason to believe the cards are magical."

Jack chimed in, "Wait. Aren't you the one who believes in Yugi Mutou?"

"That's different."

"I'm just saying. How can you make fun of someone else for believing in magic cards when you believe in the central figure of all the magic card stories?"

Matt turned his head only this time. "Because stories mutate over time. Legends take a nugget of truth and exaggerate the details until its resemblance to historical fact becomes unrecognizable. I believe Yugi Mutou was the first King of Games and the greatest duelist of his day, but I don't believe all the stories about him and the god cards." He slowly turned back to Bryan. "On the other hand, I believe it's entirely plausible that Bryan doesn't actually believe in magic, either. He was just saying that to provoke me."

"Guilty. So what do you think is the real reason the faculty won't let the gods go against each other?"

Matt wasn't having it. He affixed his squinty gaze on Bryan. "The question is why you tried so hard to derail me. Is it because Jack asked about Lucy? That shouldn't mean anything to you."

Several quick-witted replies sprang to Bryan's mind. He could lie and say he didn't like Lucy and that's why he hated talking about her. In truth, he didn't mind Lucy. She was always bright and cheerful when he saw her. Or he could lie the other way and say he had developed a crush on her and it was awkward knowing his roommate also liked her. That way he didn't have to be specific about _which_ roommate liked her.

Bryan was saved from needing to make a decision on how to progress. Matt merely stared him down with a knowing smirk. When Jack asked, "What's wrong with Lucy?" Matt didn't rock the boat. He only replied, "She seems sweet enough. Whatever it is, I'm sure her problem is only psychological." He stood, popped his back, and put on his jacket. "Think I'll step out for a bit. Haven't stretched my legs for a while. Wouldn't want to throw an embolism."

Jack frowned. "Is that a real concern?"

"Oh, yeah. Ever hear of Factor V Leiden? Clotting disorder, likely to create blood clots if you go for extended periods of time without moving. Don't worry, though. I'm sure you're perfectly healthy. You probably don't even have it." With those less-than-encouraging words, Matt stepped out onto the breezeway. Jack didn't look reassured, however. Instead, he looked nervously at his legs as he shifted his seat so he could dangle them over the edge of the bed and swing them back a forth a few times.

"Don't listen to him," said Bryan.

"You think he made that stuff up?"

"Well, no. That's probably a real thing. But he likes to exaggerate the prevalence of rare disorders just to freak people out sometimes. The advantage to being a know-it-all is it's that much easier to mess with people because he doesn't have to make stuff up. Just flex your legs for a minute and you'll be fine."

Bryan threw on his jacket and follow Matt outside. He hadn't gone far, only stopping at the dead-end of the breezeway. He leaned on the railing and stared out toward the woods. Matt had a thing for watching the water, but the ocean was on the other side of the dorm. Only the dining room had a window facing that way.

"Dude," said Bryan, eloquently grabbing Matt's attention. "Why do you fuck with Jack's head like that?"

"What? It's a real disorder."

"How prevalent?"

Matt made a face. "Somewhere in the three-to-eight percent range."

"Uh huh. And how long would he have to sit completely still before a clot formed?"

"It's not an exact science, but somewhere in the vicinity of ninety minutes seems like enough time."

Bryan shook his head. "Seriously, Jack's been cool lately. Back off a bit."

"I don't need more friends."

"If you really wanted to be alone all the time, you should have accepted the offer to move into Ra Yellow. You'd only have to share a bathroom with one other person instead of six. Well, five—you don't technically share with yourself, right?"

"I don't share with anybody."

Bryan laughed. "Yeah, I remember that being part of your sixth grade report card. I remember thinking it was odd to make such a report about a sixth grader. Most people stop being treated like toddlers when they stop being toddlers."

"Adolescence is underrated."

"Back to the point: Are you regretting your decision not to move up?"

Matt locked eyes with Bryan for just a moment before turning back to the trees. "I hate moving."

"You're shitting me. I wouldn't even have to help you move because you brought exactly one bag of clothes with you. Maybe I could carry your box of books down the sidewalk for a hundred yards to the next dorm for you."

"It's too late now. You should have made that offer sooner."

Bryan was accustomed to the way Matt liked to exasperate people, but even he was struggling for this conversation. Matt was being particularly obstinate, and with his cleverness and persistence, he was better at it than Bryan was.

Before Bryan could attempt to recover, the door opened to the next dorm room. Fats stepped out with his full Duel Academy garb like he was going for a job interview alongside his deck and a bag of barbecue chips. "Where are you going?" asked Matt.

Rolling his eyes, Bryan said, "Also, hi, Tamah! How are you today?"

Matt sputtered. "Greetings were implied. I want information."

"No worries, Matt. I'm good, Bryan. You?" The level of patience coming off that boy never ceased to amaze as he deftly handled two stark personalities. "I'm off to the library for a meeting with some duelists from Obelisk Blue. They're curious to find out if I have what it takes to join Team OTK."

"You're going to join OTK?" asked Bryan. It made sense. Fats had won two of his three placement duels with a Naturia OTK. If anyone deserved to join, it was him. "That's awesome! How often do freshmen get to join?"

Fats held his hands out as if distancing himself from the words. "I'm not joining right away. This is just a meeting to see if I can qualify. Meet some of the other members and rush, basically."

"Like a fraternity?" asked Bryan.

Fats smiled. "I hope they don't haze me too hard."

"I'm sure you'll be okay. When does duel team season start?"

"Team managers already met at the start of the year. Training and recruitment usually start right after the placement exams. The first event is October 2. Are you going to join a team?"

"I haven't heard anything about it at all yet. And I don't know anyone else well enough to ask about starting up a team."

Fats shook his head. "You don't want to do that anyway. I hear it's a lot of work. Just join an existing team."

Bryan shrugged. "Who would take me?"

"There's already an automatic team for the Slifer dorm. Dr. Kerr told us about it at orientation, remember?" It was plainly obvious that Bryan did not remember. He was lucky if he remembered half of the things any speaking teacher told him. Chuckling, Fats said, "Go downstairs and talk to Leon. He's the one organizing it this year."

"Dude!" Bryan relished the idea of being on a duel team. Reminded of the posters and tapestries adorning the halls of Duel Academy and depicting intramural rivalries, a part of Bryan's soul that thrived on competition suddenly reignited. But since Fats was about to go join a rival team, Bryan suppressed his excitement and tried to play it off as nonchalance. "Maybe I will."

"Cool. I'll see you guys after my meeting." Fats shuffled across the breezeway, descended the stairs to the ground, and sauntered down the pathway toward the main Duel Academy building, crunching on chips the whole way.

Matt asked Bryan, "You going to talk to Leon?"

"Yeah. Gonna go pee first, though."

"I'm glad to see moving away from your mom for eight months out of the year hasn't changed your behavior and that you still need permission to go to the bathroom."

Bryan gave him a playful jab. "I know how anxious you get when I'm not around." Giving in to his biological urges, Bryan went back into the dorm room and found his way to the shared bathroom. Even with only three other roommates to contend, he still had to wait for one of Fats' roommates before he could get to the toilet.

When he stepped back outside, Matt was gone. Wildly curious and a bit baffled, Bryan peered around seeking clues and finding none, even leaning over the rail to search under the breezeway. With no obvious signs, he shrugged and went about seeking team information.

* * *

The first thing Cary noticed when she arrived at the library was that one of the students in the room did not have the same level of alertness to body odor that she had developed in her fifteen years of life. She suspected it was the girl with the bleached hair and the smile that looked like it physically hurt her to wear it. Introduced to the group as Laura Guertin, Cary recognized her as the girl who acted as Matt's proctor during the practical application exam. Sneering at the memory, she instead focused on happier things, like how the girl carried herself tall and perky despite being slightly overweight.

She recognized two of the other students, though. Cary had met them first on the cruise ship that brought them to the island. They were among the handful of students ready to wander the ship at nighttime while almost everyone else was out cold. Chika with her soft features and pouty lower lip greeted Cary with a smile, ushered her to one of the conference rooms, and told her to "have a sit." Cee-Cee Silva was already there sitting at the table. She actually looked up from her phone and smiled. Her hair was pulled back neatly and looking cleaner than it had since the placement exams.

"Hey, Cary," she said gleefully. "They called you out here, too, huh?"

Cary pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows as if to say, "Seems that way."

"Team OTK is supposed to be pretty much the top of the pyramid. I never got to see your duels but I'd guess they were pretty decent to earn you an invitation."

"Did okay," said Cary. She chose to believe that Cee-Cee didn't mean the word "decent" to sound antagonistic. It was likely just a figure of speech. Then again, Cee-Cee was already back to her phone, furiously punching buttons. Cary got just enough of a glance to see that she wasn't texting. Cee-Cee was surfing through her phone's settings and typing in lengthy character codes that Cary couldn't begin to describe or repeat.

Cee-Cee caught her looking and slowly put the phone down. "Sorry. I'm being rude, aren't I?"

Cary shook her head.

"It's just that I like to tinker when I'm anxious, except I was worried I might lose some pieces in the library so I'm just messing with my phone settings instead. I just want to cut to the chase so I know what expect. I mean, are we on the team already or not?"

With a shrug, Cary showed she was unwilling to say out loud that she was just as curious. Laura and Chika stood outside the conference whispering to each other. It felt almost like a trap, but definitely a dick move no matter what was going on.

"Do you think we're still waiting for someone?" asked Cee-Cee.

"Fats."

She wasn't psychic. Tamah Fatu and his unmistakable body shape walked down the library aisle to join Laura and Chika. After exchanging a few words, Chika opened the conference room door again.

Cee-Cee whispered to Cary, "I can't believe you call him that."

"He told me to," Cary objected to her objection.

Fats shuffled into the room and offered a quick wave. "Hey, Cary. Hey, Cee-Cee." The two girls shifted seats so that Cary ended up against the wall. It was worth it so Fats could take the chair on the end and not have to squeeze in between her and the wall to get to the table. His nickname fit him.

"Is this all we're waiting for?" asked Cee-Cee.

As if answering her, Laura Guertin walked in and closed the glass conference room door. "Listen up, scrubs." She began pacing back and forth in front while keeping her eyes trained on the three freshmen. "You're here because you've shown promise with your one-turn-kill duel strategies. However, none of you finished the placement exams with three victories. Keep that in mind whenever you feel like delivering any backtalk. You still have a lot to learn about what you do."

Cary frowned through the rest of Laura's rant. It felt like she was in a cheesy boot camp movie and Laura was overacting her role. Cary slipped her phone from her pocket and began to look up Laura's record from the placement exams.

Laura actually tried an intimidating pause-and-stare maneuver when she realized that Cary wasn't paying her full attention. "Something you'd like to share with the rest of us? Perhaps you think you already know everything there is to know about one turn kills?" she asked snidely.

With a nod, Cary held up a finger. She couldn't figure out how Guertin was spelled, so she just searched the entire Duel Academy roster in alphabetical order until she found it. "You finished the placement exams with one win, two losses." Both Fats and Cee-Cee averted their eyes to avoid further shaming Laura, who was already turning bright red.

"Why, you…" Laura couldn't even get out a complete sentence from there.

Chika quickly jumped in and took over the rest of the speech. "That just prove the advice. Always more to learn." As she spoke, she ushered Laura out of the room to cool down. "Laura didn't have her best day for exams, but she is a great OTK duelist. We think you might be, too, so we want to join."

"Just like that?" asked Cee-Cee. "No special requirements?"

"Requirement is your OTK be reliable. Team get tested to make sure theme is kept. We cannot be OTK if everyone has random cards."

"Who tests us?" she asked.

Chika answered, "Faculty. They make sure all rules followed."

"So we'd get kicked off the team if we changed our decks and stopped using the OTK?" Cee-Cee asked a lot of questions. Must go with the tinkering habit, always wanting to know how everything works.

"Yes, you must keep using OTK," answered Chika. She sat down on the other side of the table, looking straight into the eyes of the freshmen at the same level, rather than attempting to look down on them by standing up and preaching. "Teams are optional, but have rewards. At finals, there is reward for students with best grades and duels. Same for best teams."

Laura stepped back into the conference room, looking as neutral as she could manage while being pale and thoroughly pissed off. "Thank you, Chika. I'll explain the schedule to them." She handed out a sheet of paper to each of the three freshmen. On one side was a basic sports-type schedule, listing at least two afterschool competitions each week until six weeks before finals. "As you can see, there are a lot of duels involved with teams. The league will pit us against the other teams multiple times over the course of the semester with one extracurricular tournament just after midterms."

The backside of the sheet had mostly rules of team dueling, but it also mentioned a School Duel Festival.

"What's the School Duel Festival?" asked Cee-Cee. The question annoyed Cary in part because she had already heard about the festival from Dave's stories. But it was too much work to interrupt and explain, so she let Laura do it. It seemed like the kind of knowledge Laura loved to lord over people, anyway.

"The School Duel Festival takes place in the middle of the semester. The winning team from the mid-term tournament gets to compete against a team representing whatever school visits us. This year it will be Duel Academy's Northern campus. We have a longstanding history of victory at these festivals, and we intend to keep it up."

Cee-Cee's eyes lit up. "We actually get to duel against students from another school?"

"Yes. Try not to embarrass Duel Academy while they're here."

"Do we ever send anybody to other schools?"

Laura replied with her chin up, "As the central campus for Duel Academy, and the original site of the Kaiba Corp. education to boot, competitions are traditionally held here. While there were no festivals held elsewhere, we do occasionally send students to another campus to study abroad. But let's get back to the main rules for team competitions. You'll see most of them enumerated on the back of your schedule. I'm not going to read them to you because I assume you can read by this point in your life."

While the freshmen browsed the list, Laura continued. "Currently there are seven teams established. Whether or not they all register varies by year. Most likely they all will—even the Slifer Slackers."

Fats raised his hand. "Sorry to interrupt, but aren't they called the Longshots?"

Laura scowled at him. "I know that. I was being facetious."

"Oh. Okay, ma'am."

Cary enjoyed seeing Fats upset Laura's maleficence with a purely innocent question. It was obvious Laura was not a people person, and Fats was so much of a people person that he couldn't notice. But his comment shook Laura so much that she had to step aside and let someone else take over the orientation for a bit. That someone was a male duelist who had just stormed up to the conference room like a mammalian missile. Cary recognized him as Rikuto whom she met on the cruise. She also watched him duel Matt in the placement exams, a fact she was somewhat annoyed for remembering.

"Our biggest rival is Duel Dragonists. They specialize in powerful Synchro dragons that can disrupt OTKs if you not careful."

Chika interrupted her. "What about the Guardian Duelers?"

Cary had kept that nugget of wisdom to herself—that the Guardian Duelers participated in team dueling—but she wondered why Rikuto was more worried about a few eight-star dragons when he also had to prepare for battling god cards. She had heard stories from Dave that not everyone liked to focus on their gods, but anyone who held a god and didn't use it had something just as threatening in the deck. Dave was a prime example, alternating only between Slifer and Exodia, who was definitely just as god-like, if you followed the lore.

"Justin is a former member of this team. Taking what we know of him before and after receiving Raviel, Haruki and I are certain we have a way of undercutting the rest of his team."

Chika looked less certain, and Cary was inclined to agree. The only way to undercut a deck based on a god card is to knock out the opponent before he can summon said god card. About one in every ten practice duels against Dave before Duel Academy, she managed to deplete his Life Points before he could pull Slifer or Exodia.

Laura quit the argument by talking over all dissenting opinions. "It doesn't matter who our opponents are because we will kill them all in a single turn, got it?" Red-faced, she turned to the freshmen. "Moving on… We saw your decks during placements. Now we test yours against ours for a chance to make you better."

The three freshmen all looked caught off-guard. Fats said, "Um, now?"

"Yes." Laura pulled her deck from her side and set it on the table. "You all brought your cards, didn't you?" Of course they had, but none had expected to show their cards so soon. "If we're to be a team, we need to know what our teammates have, and we need to encourage the strongest dueling we can get out of one another."

Cee-Cee asked, "Is it just going to be seven of us? I mean the six of us plus the other guy you mentioned."

"We have nine members," said Laura. "Don't worry about the rest of the team. They are already well prepared for the season. Rikuto, Chika, and I will show you what to expect."

Cary wondered if she should point out that they can't intimately know one another's decks if four people aren't present to share.

* * *

Bryan hadn't yet been inside the rooms on the bottom floor of Slifer Red. As soon as he entered, he realized it didn't matter. The floor plan was exactly identical. The closets were in the same place and the room still curved around the bathroom in a rigid C shape. Where the downstairs tenants differed was in their use of the space. Bryan and Jack had left the beds bunked to save space, and it did the job admirably. But these three guys had taken the beds off of one another and supported them on longer legs, creating three loft beds. They moved their respective desks underneath their beds, opening up a whole desk's space on the floor—plenty of room for a small couch. It was great for lounging in front of the TV and for offering company a place to sit. Bryan was horribly jealous, not only of the brilliant idea but also of having enough money to afford an extra couch for the dorm room.

So jealous he almost missed the names of the other Duel Academy intramural teams. "Wait. If there's a team for each dorm, does that mean there's also an all-girl team?"

"That's what I just said," said Leon. It had taken Bryan a moment to remember the older man's name when he entered the room, yet he had no trouble whatsoever remembering that glorious mustache. He scrunched his upper lip, even more jealousy coursing through him.

But the jealousy moved aside for a joke that built up in his mind. "Are they called the Treasured Chests?"

Jack huffed, but Kenny and Leon got a chuckle out of it. "They might be if the person naming their team had only just reached puberty."

Leon said, "Don't sell puberty short. I like to think I've completed my journey through adolescence and I still can't help noticing the fairer sex. Mind you everyone here is too young for me by most countries' standards, but Dr. Kerr has a lot going for her, if you catch my drift."

"I definitely do," said Kenny. Even Bryan had to admit Dr. Kerr had a pretty face, even if she was a little small for his taste.

Jack remarked, "I like how you think you surpassed adolescence but you're attending a private school to get good at a card game." That earned a laugh from the others, including Leon.

Leon started to give the actual name of the girls' team, but before he could spoil it, Bryan suggested, "The Rack Pack," earning another chuckle.

"Boy, you got a one-track mind, don't you?"

"Ironically, that 'one track' seems to be pun-based nicknames," said Jack. To date he had not seen Bryan offer a single errant glance at any of the girls on campus. He had only heard stories about the boy's treatment of Erica of the Guardian Duelers, but Jack had his doubts.

"He might get there eventually 'cause that's what they did," said Kenny. "They're called Victorious Secret."

Bryan guffawed and nearly choked from laughing too hard. "I _love it!_ " he gasped. When he finally found air, he let out a satisfied moan. "That's priceless. Way better than the Obelisk Blues. Even you are a big fan of jazz, that's such an obvious name it's stupid."

Leon said, "Well they and the Sun Gods kept their more obvious names in part for recognition of their achievements. When you earn your way into Obelisk Blue, you don't mind if your name brags about you. Since the girls feel like the hidden and oft neglected gems of Duel Academy, they went for something just as braggadocios, yet cleverer."

"Longshots is somewhat clever," said Jack. Motioning toward the group, he said, "No one expects the duelists from Slifer to do well at all. That makes us the longshot odds, but the name also sounds pretty cool. One of the X-Men has that name."

Bryan pointed at him excitedly. "The upgraded Hook Shot in the _Zelda_ games!"

"Exactly. So tell us more about this team thing so we can all get appropriately psyched up for it."

Leon, who had been showing the team information on his laptop screen, turned away from the group and shook away the screen saver.

"The basic schedule puts us in a league series against all the other teams, but we also have two tournaments to prepare for. The first is after mid-terms, and the second is right before the end of the semester." He searched the notes again. "Whoever wins the first one gets to be part of the School Duel Festival and represent Duel Academy in a matchup against one of their teams."

"Is there any scenario in which the Duel Academy team is not from Obelisk? Because it just seems like the deck may be stacked in their favor, pun absolutely intended," asked Jack.

Kenny said, "You said earlier they gave you last year's results in the registration packet. Didn' you say the Obelisks were third?" He looked to Leon for confirmation, which he gave.

"Holding over from last year's results, the Obelisk Blues start this season as the third-ranked team. They just barely eked out dominance over Team OTK and lost to the Duel Dragonists and the Guardian Duelers."

Bryan sat bolt upright. "The Guardian Duelers compete, too?"

"Sure. It's the only way they get to show off their god cards during the regular year, aside from the occasional area duel."

"Wicked," he uttered. He could imagine the awe of seeing each and every one of the god cards in their full, three-dimensional glory on the big stage.

Kenny chuckled. "Don't get too excited. Winnin' 'gainst them is nuthin to sneeze at. Cool as the cards are, they almost can't be beat."

"Bryan wants to join them," said Jack.

"Don't act like you wouldn't jump at the chance, too," said Bryan. His excitement waned just slightly. "But I did hear that the faculty have to agree to it before anyone can really challenge them for membership. Maybe if we can perform well enough in a team duel against them, we can earn a chance to challenge the god cards directly!"

Leon smiled widely. "No one can fault you for thinking big, Bryan. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we need to find a full team. The four of us here are a good start, but we need a minimum of six players to qualify for any given matchup, and a few extra players give us a little more flexibility and unpredictability."

"How do you mean?" asked Jack.

"Essentially, we get matched up against a team and randomly assigned to duel against one of theirs. If we have more players available than we're required to have on a given event, we gain some unpredictability in that the other team won't know ahead of time who they'll have to face. If they can't predict our cards, they can't prepare. On top of that, we'll have some flexibility to switch out players when the opportunity arises, which is even more confusing for them."

Bryan said, "It's like a side deck but made out of people."

"Wow," muttered Jack. "That was impressively bad."

"Yeah, but fun to say."

Jack grinned and looked back to Leon and Kenny. "So we need at least two more people. You have anyone in mind? What about your other roommate?"

Kenny shook his head. "Nah. Marcus got pulled into the Duel Dragonists. No way he'd turn them down to play on the team with the toughest odds. Could always try that one guy next door. You know which one I mean."

Leon answered, "He wasn't interested when I asked him at first, but maybe if we're at the point of missing just one player, he'll join up just to help."

Bryan thought for a second. "Fats is taken by OTK. We could try asking his roommates, though. Unfortunately, I'm not sure about Matt. He's not much of a people person…" Everyone averted their eyes to avoid giving Bryan the impression that was the most obvious statement of the day so far. "…plus he might have been recruited, also, since he just disappeared earlier."

Folding his laptop shut, Leon said, "We have until Wednesday to finalize registration. Check with the others upstairs and we'll ask our neighbors. Worst case is we can't get enough people for a team and we don't play this semester."

"I bet we find someone," said Kenny, sounding optimistic.

"Same here."

* * *

When Matt reached Duel Academy, he continued walking down the path in the direction of the Obelisk Blue dorm, just as the instructions instructed. He followed the left turn toward the lake, but before he actually reached the luxurious front lawn that made the Obelisk Blue dorm so photogenic, he stepped off the beaten path and stepped through the building's side yard. Whereas the front had only two trees placed strategically for appearance, the side and back yards were more forested. Matt could see the tall fence that stretched far from the back of the building—obviously enclosing the backyard to only those with approved access. He didn't need to cross the fence, though. His instructions led him to a small clearing still in the side yard, not too far from the stone pillars on the south side of the Duel Academy building.

As its name describes, the clearing was a small yet more open space in the middle of a collection of trees. Fairly round overall, the clearing had a picnic table in the middle with colorful flowers on their way toward their winter condition sprouted around the table legs. A single person wearing an Obelisk Blue jacket already sat at the table. He wore jet black hair in curved spikes.

"Are you Haruki Yagawa?" asked Matt.

Haruki stood and extended a handshake. "Yes." After they shook, he urged Matt to sit. "Your willingness to meet is appreciated."

"How could I turn it down after you sent such a cryptic message? I just had to know what it was about. And the directions for getting here were so specific."

"Rikuto says you might be worth checking out." Haruki was clearly not one for small talk, cutting straight to the point. However, he left his statement vague enough for Matt to give him a hard time.

"Well, I'm relatively fit with some decent triceps, but I don't have much of an ass to admire."

"He may not have meant anything like that." Haruki was confused at first, but he gave a puzzled smile—typically a signal that he realized he was not very clear in his word choice right away. It was likely a common reaction for one whose first language was not English.

Even so, Matt didn't let up. "I don't presume to know what someone is thinking or judge him on his lifestyle. Not everything is up to us to decide."

"What are you saying?" Maybe he went too far with the word play. Haruki might not know as much about homophobia as American-grown boys do.

"Never mind. It's not important, and it's slightly less funny if I have to explain. Am I correct to assume that by mentioning Rikuto you are here to assess my suitability for Team OTK? I wouldn't have expected him to mention me."

"Laura also mentioned your deck."

"Laura?" Matt thought for a second. The name rang familiar in context with dueling. After a moment's consideration, he remembered the most recent Laura he met in competition. "Ah, was she the proctor for my application practical?"

"Yes. She said you almost managed a Dark Magician OTK against her."

"I guess it was close. Are we going to duel now so you can get a feel for my cards? Nothing too personal, of course. Maybe Prisma won't mind being felt up, but Dark Magician Girl is spoken for thousands of times by now."

"You have a strange sense of humor."

"I get that a lot." Changing the subject, Matt swiped his hands across the picnic table. "Unless my eyes deceive me, this is not a duel station. It appears to be a regular, old, slightly worn picnic table. Don't tell me Obelisk Blue has holographic picnic tables, too? Is this high-tech, nanoparticle gum wedged between the planks?"

Haruki smiled a friendly, only slightly condescending smile. "Our duel will remain between us. It should not be recorded."

That decision baffled Matt. He looked around the surroundings again. Now that he was seated, he realized the clearing was partially blocked from viewing the Obelisk dorm. With two big trees preventing him from spotting the dorm at all, the picnic table was perfectly private as long as no one walked around outside. They were free from prying eyes that might accidentally spot them.

"Because you're worried about hurting a freshman's win-loss record?" asked Matt.

"You may not lose. We can duel to find out."

Matt had no problem with dueling off the record—that had described every duel he had that wasn't actually part of a tournament prior to a couple of months ago. But he still couldn't hold himself back from searching for the hidden reasons.

"My guess is: You want everyone on your team to have the best record they can manage. If you were to beat me now, it would tarnish me. So instead, we hold a casual duel. Sound about right?"

"Your logic is sound. Would you like to begin?"

Matt waved his arm across the table as if performing an invisible magic act. "Please. Age before beauty. Show me how it's done."

Haruki moved for his deck without further comment. He didn't appear to be bothered by Matt's attitude, but his was a difficult face to interpret. He placed a spell card on the field and said, " _Charge of the Light Brigade_." He slid three cards straight off the top of his deck and placed them in the space designated for discard, and then he searched his deck for a four-star Lightsworn monster.

"You're one of those people," said Matt. "Speak the name of the card and say nothing else about it."

"Apologies. Did you need an explanation."

"No, thanks. I've read the poem."

"The poem?" Haruki checked his card again as if to see whether the flavor text was actually in poetic form. It was not.

"Never mind. That yarn will take too long to unravel. Continue with your turn."

"Okay. Raiden." Apparently that was short for _Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn_ (4: 1700/1000). Must be the only card in the game with the word Raiden in it. As such, he couldn't possibly mean _any other card_! Haruki ended his turn there. Raiden's effect kicked, as it did with all Lightsworn, and burned two cards off the top of Haruki's deck… well, almost. One of those cards was _Wulf, Lightsworn Beast_ (4: 2100/300), which summoned itself to the field after hitting the graveyard.

"Good start," said Matt, adding just loudly enough to be heard, "I suppose." More clearly, he said, "I'll put one card face-down and activate _E – Emergency Call_ to move _Elemental Hero Prisma_ (4: 1700/1000) to my hand. And before I reshuffle, I'll also summon him. Using his effect, I show you my _Dark Paladin_ and throw _Dark Magician_ from my deck to the graveyard so Prisma becomes the same as _Dark Magician_." He watched Haruki carefully, hoping that his over-explaining the cards would bother the senior classman, but there was still no certain response. Just a gentle smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Okay then. I'll use _Thousand Knives_ to destroy Wulf without battle. And then I'll play _The Eye of Timaeus_." Haruki reacted with interest, leaning in to see the card more clearly. Rare cards seemed to be his weakness. "That's right. Now my Dark Prisma Magician fuses with the legendary dragon to become _Dark Paladin_ (8: 2900/2400). He's strong enough to kill Raiden." Haruki didn't even hesitate to take his monster from the field.

Matt 8000: Haruki 6800

That entire exchange was surprising and underwhelming in Matt's eyes, but he rolled with it. "Not everyone can make a grand move during the very first turn," he said. "Possibly you're holding better cards right now, but maybe you wanted to put out a feeler to make sure you didn't step into a worse trap. Smart. It's a reasonable strategy." He let go of his annoyance with that explanation, hoping that saying it out loud would rattle Haruki in some way.

It didn't. "Lyla," he said as he placed _Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress_ (4: 1700/200) on the table.

"I have a trap card," said Matt. "A Bottomless Trap, in fact. That's short for _Bottomless Trap Hole_." Haruki, like most duelists, knew the card just from the word Bottomless. He took Lyla off the table and placed her on the other side of the discard pile.

And then he played no other cards at all.

On his turn, Matt played _Skilled Dark Magician_ (4: 1900/1700) and delivered two direct attacks to bring Haruki down significantly in overall LP.

Matt 8000: Haruki 2000

"Here's the thing," said Matt. "I know that sometimes you have to be willing to risk a lot of damage in order to set up your one-turn-kill. Cary had already shown fair consistency with her one-turn kill and had, more than once, left her field completely empty for two full turns just to set it up. But you are clearly using a deck that thrives on graveyard contents, and yet your graveyard is still practically empty.

"There's something else going on behind the scenes on your side. Pretty sure I figured it out, too," he said. "At first, I thought you just didn't want to hurt my record because that makes Team OTK look less impressive for recruiting me. But now I realize this duel has to be off the record because it's going to hurt _your_ record."

Haruki retained a neutral expression. "Seeing your deck is most important for making this decision."

"I get where your decision comes from. It's just that if you're holding back to see what I can do, then are you really getting a good sense of what I can do?"

"Would you truly prefer to see my full effort?"

"Of course. I appreciate your dumbing it down for the inexperienced freshman, but the game's far less enjoyable this way."

Haruki smiled—nay, smirked! Well, it could have been a smirk on anyone else. Here was a freshman practically begging a senior to dish out all of the Duel Academy training he had received with nary a real clue as to the intensity of the request. And yet the most frustrating aspect was the lack of any real disdain in Haruki's expression. If anything, his rather neutral smile bordered on… respect?

"Then let us gather our cards and begin anew." He pulled his cards straight from the table and mixed them up, offering the deck for Matt to shuffle. Matt repeated the gesture with his own cards.

"Please, take the first turn," said Haruki.

"You're far too kind." Matt drew his opening hand and immediately slapped down three cards. "I'll start with _Elemental Hero Prisma_ (4: 1700/1000) and use his effect to toss Dark Magician from my deck to the Graveyard." He showed his fusion card Dark Paladin in order to activate the effect, and then he searched his deck for his ace monster, which was conveniently only the next card in the deck. "I will also place one card down and activate _Dark Magical Circle_. That will be it for my first turn."

He watched Haruki draw his cards again. This time, he showed no hesitation in moving the card he drew to the back of his hand and pulling another card from the middle. " _Solar Recharge_." He dropped one of those Lightsworn monsters from his hand, drew two cards, and then tossed the next two straight into the graveyard. Matt still found amusement in observing the ease with which Haruki threw out half his deck.

" _Pot of Duality_ ," said Haruki. He looked through the top three cards of his deck, picked one to keep, and then tossed the other two. Weird how many of the people running one-turn-kill strategies used a card that prevented them from performing special summons, which were almost exclusively necessary in order to complete any OTK victory. Next he showed another card. " _Allure of Darkness_." That card let him draw two cards, but he'd have to banish a dark monster or lose his hand. Did a Lightsworn master even carry a dark monster? Apparently yes: He banished Gorz, Emissary of Darkness—a card in stark contrast to the Lightsworn themselves.

Finally, Haruki turned his focus away from his hand to the on-field threat. " _Mystical Space Typhoon_." He lifted his card from the table and pointed directly at _Dark Magical Circle_.

"Oh no, the core of my strategy," said Matt sarcastically. "How will I ever recover?" He moved his card to the graveyard.

Haruki ended with one monster face-down.

"Before you go, I'll play _Eternal Soul_ to summon _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) back from my graveyard. And now it's my turn," said Matt, as if it weren't already obvious. He wondered if pointing out the obvious like that were uncool. Maybe that's why no one bothered to explain their card effects unless asked.

"First I'll use _Eternal Soul_ 's effect to take _Thousand Knives_ from my deck to my hand. And then I'll use it to destroy your face-down monster." Haruki removed his monster to the discard pile. His field was wide open once again, almost like he was still inviting Matt to attempt an OTK against him. Unfortunately Matt lacked the cards for a hit so devastating, but he did hold the right cards to go halfway.

"I send away Prisma to summon _Dark Magician Girl_ (6: 2000/1700). These two combine to hit you for 4500 LP."

Matt 8000: Haruki 3500

Haruki smiled again. It was a difficult smile to read, perhaps because he appeared to be sincerely amused. Maybe he was just toying with Matt after all. Once his turn started, he placed aside half the cards in his hand.

" _Judgment Dragon_ (8: 3000/2600)." Suddenly the strategy of throwing away all the cards made more sense. Judgment Dragon was a powerful monster summoned through almost no effort and with no additional downside, except that he would eventually force Haruki to discard even more of the cards he was already throwing away like he didn't care. "The effect activates now."

Matt 8000: Haruki 2500

In exchange for a measly 1000 LP, Haruki's dragon cleared the field of all of the other cards. It would have been easy enough to clear Matt's field anyway, but he still didn't like the look of being defenseless… especially when Haruki said, "Another," and laid a second _Judgment Dragon_ (8: 3000/2600). With that attack, he could take the lead in an instant.

But Haruki wasn't interested in taking the lead. He wanted the win. Next he played _Charge of the Light Brigade_ and dropped more cards in the grave so he could move a copy of _Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter_ (4) to his hand. Finally, he played _Monster Reincarnation_ and discarded Ryko to retrieve his third and final _Judgment Dragon_ (8: 3000/2600) from the graveyard and then summon it to the field. Facing down a triple threat of Judgment Dragons, Matt had no choice but to accept defeat.

Matt 0: Haruki 2500

Matt stared at the table for a moment, not at all confused about how he lost that duel, yet somehow still confused how he managed to lose a duel. He was far from undefeated, but it was exceedingly rare to find a duelist capable of crushing him with such ease. Not since the time he applied for the Arbus Foundation scholarship, and certainly not against anyone who was just a student.

"You show much promise. The trappings of a one-turn-kill are present in your cards. Execution is not consistent, however."

"Come off it. Were you ever really going to accept the Dark Magician theme for your special club?"

"If the play style was applicable, yes. Regulations are not strict for house teams. Obelisk and Ra and Slifer provide their own connective theme. To establish an outside team requires adherence to a new and common theme. If duelists of OTK do not utilize an OTK enough to be recognized, then the theme falls apart and team status is threatened."

"Yours is the only team whose theme is a strategy rather than a card. That's why it's so much harder to maintain your team. Standards have to be high."

"Have you the cards here to strengthen your one-turn-kill technique?"

The question was meant to be harmless and informative, yet it forced Matt to consider his home life and his personal, financial condition. A scowl crossed his face as he answered. "No. I have only a handful of unused cards available. None of them would make OTKs any more likely."

"Too bad. Perhaps you can collect more, build a strong theme, and seek to join Team OTK for the spring semester." Haruki smiled, gave a short nod, and then wandered off to the mansion-like dormitory, leaving Matt to fume by himself.

* * *

As Bryan chomped down on his third grilled cheese sandwich, Matt was almost in awe. It was like watching a duck gargle down something that was just a little bit too big for its throat. He wondered whether Bryan could even taste the cheese while moving that quickly.

When Bryan stopped to take a breath, Matt said, "I guess the food's not as bad as everyone else makes it seem."

Bryan beamed. "This cook is amazing."

"This cook is solitary," said Matt. Although Duel Academy would never go so far as to punish the lowest-ranked students with hunger, they didn't spend a huge portion of the budget on the Slifer mess hall, either. One the first night, Matt thought he was having a stroke because all the hot sandwiches smelled like burning toast. "The reason for all the simple recipes is he has no assistance back there."

"And he's doing a spectacular job with it." Bryan didn't care about the cook's minor flaws and, in fact, he liked his toast just a little bit burnt. "If Ra and Obelisk food is even better, then I can't wait to move up. You probably don't even know what you're missing by turning it down."

"If I don't know, I can't miss it."

"You're not wrong there."

"Besides. Who could possibly measure up to this fine cuisine? It would take Gordan goddamn Ramsey to make a grilled cheese sandwich with a more perfect trim of pan-cheese on the crust."

Bryan paused. Through squinting eyes that sought to find their way into the annals of Matt's mind, he said, "Sometimes I can't tell if you're being facetious or not."

"Sometimes the answer eludes me, as well."

After a few more minutes spent in idle chit-chat, Bryan and Matt noticed Jack enter the dining hall. Even if they hadn't noticed him walk through the door, it was harder to miss him when he grabbed some food and sat down on the bench right beside Bryan. Not that he had a lot of options. As Duel Academy's ugly step-child, the Slifer Red dorm had the smallest overall footprint. There were exactly two long tables with built-in benches in the room. Had Jack sat somewhere else, he might have given the impression that he had a problem with his two roommates. Matt didn't preclude that possibility, but it seemed less likely since Jack sat beside them.

But in addition, Jack looked like he had a burning question to ask. "How come you guys eat so early every day?"

"First in, when the food is freshest," said Bryan.

Matt added, "Plus there's less competition for the food."

"Seriously?"

"Look around. There's nobody here right now but us."

Jack groaned, masking an amused smirk. "That's not what I meant. Are you seriously worried about competition over the food? There are only twenty-four people in this dorm and the cook is busy for three hours. Pretty sure there is plenty of underwhelming food for everyone."

Bryan looked offended by someone not agreeing with his battle strategy. "Yeah, but this way we don't have to wait for the food or worry about taking too much at once."

"Plus ten minutes of eating by ourselves. The quiet is nice."

Jack asked, "How quiet was it, Bryan? Did you have any luck finding us another teammate?"

Matt looked curiously to Bryan and smirked. Bryan read the smirk right away. Although Matt had told Bryan about his secret duel against Haruki, leader of Team OTK, Bryan hadn't brought up their headcount shortage. "Not yet. Turns out Matt missed our meeting because he was busy being recruited into Team OTK by Haruki Yagawa himself."

Jack's expression fell as he shifted his full attention to his food. "That's a bummer for us. I think we got one of the other guys to agree. We'll see in a few minutes. Kenny's supposed to be joining a bunch of them for dinner to finalize sign-ups. It'd be nice to get at least our required six guaranteed today."

"We'll find someone," said Bryan.

Matt sat in silence for a moment and watched the other two eat. He was toying with the idea of being honest, but instead he settled on half-truths. "Let me know how recruitment ends up for you. Not too sure I'll settle for Team OTK this semester after all."

"Why?" asked Jack. "If they recruited you, why not join them? No offense to any of you guys but if I had the chance to play for a high-ranking team, I wouldn't think twice about my decision."

With a shrug, Matt said, "You know how I am. Well, Bryan knows how I am. I'm not close to anyone on OTK, so I wouldn't enjoy being there."

"Are you close to anyone at all?" asked Jack, smirking at his own joke.

"Touché."

Bryan, on the other hand, moved very rapidly from a look of excitement at having Matt join the Longshots to contemplation at the real reason behind it. Matt could almost see the gears turning as Bryan considered his words before he spoke. "So your excuse is that you don't want to play with a bunch of people you don't know, and meanwhile you actually want to help a bunch of people you don't know just because I'm on the team?"

"I'm more comfortable talking to someone I know."

"Which is just further proof that you're more likely to lie to someone you know. People you don't know are easy because you just tell them what you think, if you even talk at all. It would be altogether easier for you not to be on any team. Then you get to stay in the room by yourself and do nothing."

"Yeah, but the team's important to you."

"And if there's one thing I've learned about you over the years it's how much you love being there for people," said Bryan. His words dripped with so much sarcasm even Jack knew what he meant without knowing the history between him and Matt. More seriously, he said, "Something happened with Haruki, didn't it?"

Matt pursed his lips and feigned innocence. "Like what?"

"Did you make a lewd joke about his sister?"

Jack said, "He has a girlfriend. Miyu-something. Maybe he was overly honest about how she looks."

For a second Bryan wanted to stop and ask how Miyu looks. Did Jack's remark mean she was crazy hot or the exact opposite? But if he got derailed, he would lose his train of thought and Matt would get away with the lie. So he pulled a massive U-turn and came back to his best friend.

"Which means you ended up not being asked to the team," Bryan deduced. "Or at least, the tension is actually so awkward you don't feel like accepting the initial invitation anymore."

Matt knew by this point that he was not going to convince Bryan that nothing was wrong. Unfortunately he had let too many clues slip describing what was unusual behavior for him, all of which Bryan picked up on. Matt figured it was better to go with the story where he offended someone by mistake and recused himself out of respect… Actually that didn't sound believable, either. Better just to say he was a dick and they didn't like it.

"Yeah. So it's hard for them not to want a duelist of my caliber on the team, but it would be too uncomfortable even for me. At least this team is full of warm-blooded guys who react the same way I do to an Asian goddess with full lips, supple breasts, and both hair and skin like silk."

Bryan laughed an excited, triumphant laugh. "Alright, then. Join up with the Longshots. If you're on the team, you might be able to get your revenge on those jerks."

Matt smiled, his disappointing secret safe for now. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

 **As usual, thanks to my readers for the characters I've taken, including Jack Hansbury, _Vstriker_ for Fats, and _HardWrapping_ for Cee-Cee. I apologize for taking so long between updates, but life is so busy sometimes and duels of a decent quality require a lot of work on my part. But at least I keep the word count high, right? Hopefully you're enjoying the character build-up so far with the minor sneaking in of future plots. In the interest of speeding things up, I may begin jumping forward a bit to skip some of the slower weeks in school.**

 **OCs are still accepted for anyone who wants to join the fun!**


	11. Wanna Trade?

Chapter 11: Wanna Trade?

Of all the midterm exams on his docket, Bryan least looked forward to Biology. Dr. Apple was the most detail-oriented teacher he'd ever met, and he figured that out for himself even if all the upperclassmen hadn't said the same thing already. You know when you read a text book and it tells you to check one of those side figures for a detailed example? Dr. Apple was actually asking questions about those figures. That feature alone nearly doubled the amount of information Bryan needed to study and remember.

Thankfully he felt like he remembered just enough for a passing grade. It was a pleasant feeling to look around the room and see everyone struggling as much as he was. The Longshots may be winless as a dueling team, and Bryan may still have a losing record as an individual, but Dr. Apple's exams were a great equalizer. The best duelists still struggled to remember the differences between C3, C4, and CAM plants—Bryan knew it was related to fixing carbon during photosynthesis, but he got fuzzy on the rest of the details.

Just one student was completely relaxed during the exam, and that jerk was sitting right next to Bryan with his feet propped up on the desk and the seat back reclined as far as he could get it. Unfortunately Matt wasn't just slacking off: He had already turned in his test. Everyone else who finished left the room, no longer bound to the class schedule. Matt opted to remain until at least one person he felt like hanging out with was ready to leave. For a while Bryan assumed Matt was waiting for him, but Kasumi had finished her exam a short time before Bryan even got to the last page. After collecting her things and turning toward the door, Matt jumped up and followed her. Bryan still wasn't clear on the relationship between those two, in part because it hadn't blossomed much between Matt's reluctance and Kasumi's coyness. But as long as they enjoyed each other's company, Bryan was more concerned about midterms.

It wasn't until Bryan got to the very last question that he realized why he felt so uncertain about most of the questions. Not only did Dr. Apple expect the students to learn from the examples in the textbook, he expected everyone to remember his anecdotes and one-off comments from lectures, too.

There on the last page right above the empty space was the question, "Why is 'platypi' not the correct pluralization of 'platypus'?"

Bryan grinned to himself as he at least got to finish the exam on a high note. Writing down his explanation about Latin versus Greek linguistics, he thought to himself, "Thank you, Matt!" He swiftly turned in his exam and dashed out of the room.

Matt and Kasumi were sitting on a bench outside the lecture hall, deep in whatever conversation they were having. Bryan half expected it to be related to fornication, but as soon as he drew near enough to hear Matt's side, he realized the topic.

"There never was any kind of resolution to it. They just disappeared for two weeks, and then as if by magic they came back."

"Freaky," said Kasumi. "Where were they found?"

"I'm going to stop by Dr. West's office hours today and ask. He never said anything to the Guardians about it. Well, he said they were said a package was left in his mailbox, but that's obviously bupkes. It couldn't be that simple."

"You don't think so?"

"Not for a second. Someone goes through the trouble of stealing all nine god cards, he wants something from them. Everyone suffered through room inspections and body checks and the not-fun cavity searches, and no sign was ever found."

"What do you think that means? Maybe they used a hiding spot on the island somewhere?"

Matt offered an uncertain nod. "I can't rule out the possibility, but it seems unlikely."

"Dr. West could have found the hiding spot and that's how he got them back."

"But then why hide that fact? When given the choice of saying you found the hiding spot or that the thief had a change of heart and returned the cards willingly, there's only one reason to choose the latter: You don't know what the hiding spot was."

Kasumi considered the thought for a second. Even Bryan thought she looked adorable when her nose scrunched like that. "He could just lie."

"But he didn't, and I think that's because it's a lot harder to lie about something like that than you'd expect. Not only do you have to make up something that's legitimately a solid hiding place, you have to be lucky enough that not one of the hundred-fifty students here had been in that spot during the two weeks the cards were missing. And if you really do know of such a hiding place, you run the risk of losing the secret when people start asking questions."

"That's a lot of overthinking," said Kasumi.

Bryan finally chimed in. "Now you're all caught up to where I am on this topic." He had been hearing about the stolen god cards and Matt's wild theories ever since the boy got it in his head to solve the case a year after the fact.

Kasumi smiled at him. "Hey, Bryan. How was the exam?"

"Biology may as well be Greek to me," he quipped. "At least that last question was."

"Funny," remarked Matt.

But Kasumi was in agreement with Bryan's assessment. "Wasn't that such a random question?"

Matt said, "Not really. It came up on Day 1 of class."

"And yet he never mentioned the answer to that question in class," said Bryan. "That's so unfair for a test question."

"You got the answer, didn't you? Then stop worrying about it. The day holds more importance for you. Weren't you going to attempt a few trades after the area duels today? You should get your cards ready."

Kasumi beamed. "That's exciting. Who are you trading with?"

Bryan shrugged. "Just figured I'd start by asking around the Guardians since I've already met them all. It's easier than going up to random people and asking if they have any Hero support cards to trade."

"Do you know about _The Outpost_? You build a profile and post the specific cards you're looking for. If anyone has one, they can contact you with trade or monetary requests."

With a gasp entirely out of amazement mixed with frustration, Bryan said, "That's sounds amazing and like such a time saver. And almost too good to be true. What if something like that is how people found and stole the god cards?"

"It's an internal Duel Academy forum," said Kasumi, instantly shooting down the theory that some mainlander weaseled his way into a trade with last year's Guardian Duelers and then somehow swindled them out of their god cards. "Besides, not a lot of people post the cards they have to trade. It's like asking for people to bug you about it. Instead, they mostly just post the cards they want and only get bugged by someone who actually has the card."

"I'm okay with it either way. I don't mind meeting people," said Bryan. He reveled in the thought of having people come to him with more Hero cards instead of spending all his time trying to track them down. It's _so_ much harder to figure out what cards are in someone's collection that they _don't_ play. "Finding these Vision Heroes isn't as easy as that library book made it sound."

Matt nudged Kasumi. "Did you hear that? Bryan actually read a book."

"Har, har," Bryan mocked back.

Kasumi smiled but never laughed at Bryan's expense. "Well, check _The Outpost_ , if you choose to. You'll be able to find out if someone has one of the Vision Heroes and is willing to part with it. Since it sounds like they might be cards that work best with other Heroes, you may get lucky and find someone willing to trade pretty cheaply."

"That'd be great."

"Just don't come off too needy," said Matt. "Treat it like buying a used car. You could take it or leave it. Otherwise you might get ripped off."

"Duly noted."

Presently Cary emerged from the lecture hall. Despite taking even longer than Bryan to finish and turn in her exam, she still looked perfectly calm and collected about the experience. Not a drop of sweat on her brow nor a hair out of place. Bryan was a bit jealous. If she held it together that well against the man who gave the hardest tests at Duel Academy, then there wasn't likely to be much that could faze her.

"Hi, Cary," beamed Kasumi. "How was it?"

Cary shrugged, and her relaxed expression said for her, "It was a breeze."

Trying to poke the bear, Matt said, "I notice you took longer than any of us to finish."

"I have better stamina," she replied. Instantly Bryan thought about sex and blushed. Judging from the smirk on Cary's face, it was the reaction she hoped for. "Some of us check our answers before submitting the test for evaluation."

"You only do that if you're not confident in your answers," said Matt.

"Or to ensure you always picked the answer you intended to. No stray marks that can be misread."

Matt pursed his lips briefly. "Yeah. No comeback. That's valid." Cary grinned victoriously.

Bringing her roommate into the fold, Kasumi explained, "I was just telling Bryan about _The Outpost_. He's trying to find some Vision Hero cards to help improve his deck."

The look of acceptance on Cary's face screamed a dozen comments at once. "I'm glad you recognize that you need help. You've lost every duel with the Longshots. Vision Heroes aren't a bad way to go. You really ought to pick a better theme than E-Heroes, though," and so many similar comments to complete that train of thought.

All she said out loud was, "You didn't know about _The Outpost_?"

Chuckling, Bryan confessed, "No. I feel oblivious."

"You are. The only way to be even less aware is to say you didn't check the card shop." Bryan thought he held back any visible reaction, but Cary's gaze suggested he failed. "You did know the card shop also deals in singles? And that there was a card shop in this building?"

Matt said, "Huh. That almost makes sense for a school that primarily teaches card games. We should have thought of that."

To counter the intense look of disapproval on Cary's face, Bryan quickly interjected, "Don't listen to him. We did know there was a card shop. We just haven't been there yet."

"Why not?" asked Kasumi. "It's a beautiful shop, and they have so many options."

"Because they want money," said Bryan.

That comment killed the conversation for a full thirty seconds. Kasumi and Cary both refused to make eye contact with Bryan. He wanted to defend himself against whatever conclusions they were drawing, but instead he just let them think whatever came to mind. It was easier than explaining his financial home life. Cary was the first to speak again.

"Then you won't get a lot of benefit from checking the singles. They're a business, so they underpay for the supply and then turn right around to overcharge in resale, especially rare or useful cards. Packs are cheaper because the value isn't guaranteed ahead of time."

Kasumi looked up. "Still, it couldn't hurt to see what's available, right?"

"I do love window shopping," Bryan remarked in a tone that easily be interpreted as sincere or sarcastic, and neither interpretation would be wrong. Oftentimes window shopping was the only kind of shopping he could afford. He shrugged at Matt and asked, "Want to go check it out?"

Matt checked his phone for the time. "We only have thirty minutes until area duels start."

Cary groaned. "Oh, my god. Everything is inside this same building. The card shop is on the second floor right across from the library's emergency exit. It's less than two hundred paces from the arena. Trust me: You have plenty of time."

Chuckling to himself, Bryan said, "That's a hilarious way to phrase that statement. You're a very funny girl. 'Trust you.' Riot!" He quickly changed his tune and patted Cary on the shoulder. "I'm just playing."

She returned a forced smile that implied she would willingly break his bones as a measured response to such treatment.

"I'll go with you," said Kasumi cheerily. Bryan was about to say how nice and polite that was when she tempered the effect by adding, "What else have I got to do before the area duels?" So much for sentiment.

Still, it was nice to have a pretty girl go with them. Bryan sometimes felt like Matt needed other people around to help him socialize better. While Bryan may be good at reining in Matt's particular brand of awkwardness, he still needed practice holding himself together around other people, and Kasumi was especially good at drawing out Matt's even-tempered side. Despite his words to the contrary, Matt probably had a legitimate thing for her.

The card shop was a sight to behold. First of all, the door was easy to miss right around the corner from the elevator and kind of hidden behind one of the giant lobby columns that rose all the way from the ground floor to the ceiling. If you weren't looking for it, which Bryan usually wasn't, then you'd miss it, like Bryan usually did. It shared the same glass walls as the library study rooms and the overall size of the shop was about a third the size of a lecture room, adding to its camouflage.

Once you did pay attention, however, it was eye-catching and hard to miss. The posters along the wall were of iconic _Yu-Gi-Oh! Gaming_ tournaments players with pictures of the current national champs from across the globe and a few professional dueling teams. Bryan knew some of their names from watching them on TV, but he'd never had the luxury of attending a professional duel in person. He wondered if any of them were Duel Academy alumni who might visit the campus sometime.

Inside, the shop was as colorful as lining all the walls with paint swatches. An angled desk where the register sat nearly barred the door. The wall behind it was covered in wire shelving holding all the available structure decks—themed decks that were preassembled by the Kaiba Corporation for instant use by more amateur duelists looking for a decent deck to get started. A few shelving units were spaced out in the room offering books related to dueling and even a few binders full of single cards to peruse. Most of the valuable cards were locked up in the giant, glass cases that marked the wall opposite the counter. Rows and rows of cards so rare—and _expensive!_ —that Bryan simply stared for two minutes straight without saying a word.

"We've lost him," said Matt. He waved a hand in Bryan's field of view with little reaction. "It may look like he's studying these cards in awe, he's really just overstimulated and lost the ability to process external stimuli. Watch this." Demonstrating the phenomenon to Kasumi, he slapped Bryan in the butt, popping the cheek nice and loudly.

"Not the first time we've ever lost someone to that wall," spoke an older lady who stepped out of a back room Bryan hadn't noticed before. "Might be the first time I witnessed the butt clapping, though." She was clearly an older lady but wore a hefty volume of makeup to counteract the effects of aging. No doubt her blonde hair retained that color through additional assistance. Her outfit resembled the Duel Academy uniform, but hers was even more relaxed than Matt's. She wore a sleeveless white jacket trimmed in purple over a pink sweater. Instead of wearing a matching skirt, she wore gray leggings.

"Hi, Desiree," said Kasumi. The lady smiled back and offered a short wave. "These are my friends Matt and Bryan. I thought I'd show them the card shop for their first time."

"Always a pleasure to have more students come by," said Desiree. "Feel free to look around. If there's anything you're unsure of or you can't see clearly, just ask. I assume you're here to finally spend any credits you might have built up?"

Matt narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before speaking. "Of course. That sounds like the kind of motivator that keeps people operating here."

"You almost sound like you didn't know that you earn credits for this shop when you do well in competitions."

He shook his head. "They mentioned something about winning ten packs of cards when I finished placement exams with the highest freshman score. Since they never gave me anything, I just assumed they changed their minds because I refused to move out of Slifer Red."

Desiree winced. "Well, that's probably never happened before, to be sure. Maybe you did surprise them a tad. But they still should have clarified that your earned packs could be picked up here. You have your ID card with you?" Matt handed it over to Desiree and watched her swipe it through the card reader at the register. After clacking away briefly at the loudest keyboard ever devised by humankind, she reacted with surprise. "Well, now. It seems you've been a productive student so far. You have thirty credited packs built up. You feel like collecting?"

The idea was weird to Matt. It wasn't quite the same as having money, but it was a similar sensation. A feeling of power that came with an upper limit, yet one that was so far away it was undetectable for the time being. The initial surge passed quickly, giving way to a more logical train of thought. "How do credits work with single cards?"

"That depends on the value of the card," said Desiree. "Are you looking for a specific one?"

"No, my cards actually work together. Maybe when I'm ready to try a different theme."

"We'll be here. Just keep in mind that your credits expire at the end of the semester. If nothing else, you should come by and grab a handful of free packs just for the sake of your collection before you lose them forever."

"I'll keep that in mind." He glanced back at Bryan, who was still lost in thought. "Trouble, Bryan? Did your brain shut down?"

Bryan swallowed a few times before he found his voice again. "I've just never seen so many beautiful cards all at once before. The game shop back home couldn't measure up to this if it were quadruple the size."

Kasumi asked, "Really? The card shop in my city dwarfs this one. I mean, they sell cards for a wider variety of games, but still." She was obviously from a more affluent region than Bryan was. "Small town" was too grand a term to describe his hometown.

"Pass me your ID card. I'll see if you have any credits," said Desiree.

Bryan was nervous to hand over his card. He was afraid to hear her say what he was almost certain was coming—that his six wins for the semester equated to him owing money instead of getting any free gifts. But for the sake of being certain, he still offered his card. Desiree ran it and typed in a similar sequence to when she checked Matt's balance. Her expression didn't change, and so Bryan thought for a second that maybe he was in good shape after all.

But Desiree dashed that hope quickly. "Well, you have two available pack credits."

"I do?" he asked. Choosing for the moment to focus on the fact that his time at Duel Academy was worth anything at all, he asked, "Can you tell what for?"

"The only information I can look up is who gave them to you, and that's confidential. But typical ways they get earned are by perfect scores on course exams, any team shutouts, long-odds placement exams, and participation in external competitions under the Duel Academy name."

Matt said, "There you go. Definitely two of those things describe you."

"Which ones?"

"No idea. But even if it's a bank error in your favor or if you won a beauty pageant we didn't know of or vote in, you get two free packs. If you're looking for Hero support, you should consider taking a couple of packs to see what you get. What's the best booster to help out an Elemental Hero deck?"

Desiree pointed toward the corner of the shop. "There's actually a booster series specifically for Hero cards. You won't know what you're going to get, but they'll definitely be related to Heroes. On the other hand, there's so much support for Heroes and so many different ways to play them partly because they tend to be low-tier cards. The biggest question you should ask yourself is whether you want to stick with the Hero theme or try building something newer and stronger."

Bryan faltered. She couldn't do a better job of asking exactly the soul-striking question that he had wrestled with ever since the cruise ship to the island… even if it technically wasn't a question. He hemmed and hawed briefly as he considered the answer to her question.

"I'll take ten of these," said Matt. He was standing in the corner pawing through the boxes, fishing out ten packages that had the word HERO emblazoned across them using the images from the component _Hero Flash!_ cards.

Matt didn't have the time to wait for Bryan to make a life-changing decision in the moment. He tossed the packs on the counter and handed over his ID card once more. "Bryan's going to hang onto his credits until he figures out what's inside these packs and what else he still needs." As soon as Desiree swiped Matt's card through the computer, he tossed the packs in Bryan's direction one at a time. "Hopefully you get something good. Maybe you'll even get one of those Vision Heroes you're looking for without getting ripped off in the trade negotiations."

While Bryan felt a mix of dumbstruck and grateful, Desiree didn't show much of a reaction. "Feel free to come by later and check out the singles if you need something specific," said Desiree. "Hero cards aren't as expensive as the more powerful meta cards so you might be able to find them easily enough." She seemed to take a signal from Kasumi. "Are you on a schedule?"

Kasumi smiled sheepishly. "We're sorry for leaving so soon. It's almost time for the area duel."

"Don't worry about it. Stop by again whenever you have time and want some new cards."

As soon as they stepped out the door, Matt checked the time and shot Kasumi a cross look. "We still have eighteen minutes."

"Okay?"

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Never mind. Let's be on our way. If we walk like this, we'll just make it in time." He slowed his pace so suddenly it was like he got stuck in a time warp. Each step was painstakingly slow. A couple of students traversing the walkway had to weave around him while Bryan rolled his eyes. Kasumi shoved him playfully and said, "Shut up! There's nothing wrong with being early." On the other hand, maybe there was a _too early_.

When the three entered the basement arena, they finally split. Kasumi wanted to go say hi to her friends and roommates, but Matt and Bryan were more interested in avoiding personal interaction while they opened some new packs. The arena was still empty by a huge margin. In terms of total capacity, the arena was capable of seating more eight times the total student population in case of big events like school conventions or Homecoming events or graduation. The catch was that half the arena was blocked off during the semester to save on cleanup work. Even so, offering less than half the total capacity, plus early arrival to the area duel, meant you get an arena where you have to work harder to end up near anybody than to be alone. Matt led Bryan to a corner near the front and slid into the hard plastic seats.

Bryan was hopeful to see Dave, Andy, and Justin come join them, or even Jack and the other Longshots, but even as the arena slowly filled, he and Matt were largely left alone. The closest person in proximity was Mitsuro Itachu, who was sitting alone for the sake of sailing through a notebook, likely cramming in a few last-minute facts before her afternoon midterm. When the Guard Trio did come in, they had bee-lined straight for front and center.

"Catch up with them before lunch," said Matt, reading Bryan like an open pack of cards. "Or better yet, open those card packs so you know whether you still need all the cards on your list."

He didn't have to make that suggestion Bryan. While Matt had napped silently for several minutes after sitting, Bryan had already started opening the packs from the card shop. He found multiple copies of Elemental Heroes he had yet to add to his collection, including Heat, Ice Edge, and Voltic. He gathered another copy of Fusion Recovery and a new Miracle Fusion, both good support cards for fusing Heroes together. Pure luck had also granted him two copies of Vision Hero Vyon, which was on the list he had eagerly sought. He set aside the Masked Heroes and Destiny Heroes to focus on combining the might of Elemental Heroes with Vision Heroes instead.

"For once, I'm actually way ahead of you."

Dr. Lankford walked on stage wearing his crisp blue coat and gathered everyone's attention as the lights dimmed significantly. He gave the usual, generic welcome speech about how area duels are both a relaxed effort to test out one's duel skills and a competitive way to show your fellow duelists what you are capable of. He threw in a short description of how to initiate your own area duel participation—essentially telling the faculty that you want to do it and who you want to challenge. Before exiting stage-left, he introduced the two duelists.

Naoki was a third-year Obelisk student and a leading scorer for the Obelisk Blues duel team. Despite coming up only to Bryan's shoulder back on the cruise ship, Naoki was a good head taller than his opponent. He was challenging Kai Jackson, who incidentally played for the Duel Dragonists team, whose deck focus was on synchro summoning powerful dragons. In the event of a win, Naoki was hopeful to claim one of Kai's rarest cards. Unfortunately Bryan was left guessing which card since Dr. Lankford never clarified.

"What do you think the card is?"

"It's probably not another copy of Vyon," said Matt.

Bryan huffed at him. "How did your sleepy ass know I found one?"

"I peeked." He winked. "Speaking of peeking, check out Mitsuro's two o'clock."

Instead of making a dumb joke about a new watch, Bryan actively wanted to check out anyone capable of turning Matt's head. Looking just over Mitsuro's right shoulder, he spotted a mousy girl who looked like she might still be ten years old. She had dark hair and eyes and wore her Duel Academy uniform perfectly pressed and meeting every minor regulation in the dress code.

"Emily?" asked Bryan. "Is Li a Chinese name?"

"What? Who?" Matt turned full body to take a look, which drew Mitsuro's attention enough to narrow her eyes at him briefly. He ignored it and looked past her to spot Emily Li sitting in the seat two rows in front of Mitsuro just a bit to the left from his perspective. "Oh. I didn't even see her, and I spelled peeking with two Es you weird pun-seeker. But I meant Mitsuro's two o'clock, not ours."

"That _is_ Mitsuro's two o'clock. Did you mean her five o'clock?"

Matt tried counting that out on his fingers. "Maybe? What's that in military time?"

Bryan rolled his eyes and turned for another look. Behind Mitsuro a few rows was a girl far taller than Emily, and significantly older. Well, not in reality, but she looked far more mature than the shorter girl. Bryan didn't recognize her, but he could see what got Matt's attention. She left her jacket unzipped about halfway down her torso to reveal a low-cut tank top with ample cleavage. With her extra age, she was filled out noticeably more than most of the girls in school. It took legitimate effort for Bryan to examine her face. She was attractive enough, but her curves caught Bryan's gaze and refused to relinquish until the lights finally fell too dim for him to see.

The two duelists approached and shook hands. Instead of dueling at the duel table, they were armed with personal Duel Disks, so setup took a little bit longer than usual. Bryan whispered, "Would you rather do her or Lucy?"

"Still Lucy," he said. "But she's a close third."

"Oh, yeah? Who's second?"

Matt put his finger to his lips and shushed. "The duel's about the start." Bryan snickered softly and settled back into his seat.

It wasn't the first time an area duel utilized Duel Disks, but it was still somewhat uncommon. More interesting was that Kai used a first-generation Duel Disk with some kind of modifications to it. Probably a Wi-Fi repeater or something to boost its signal to match the speed and quality of the newer models.

Naoki threw down a single card, emerging on the field as a tall and thin robot, like an orange Transformer. The name projected onto the side of the stage was _Machina Gearframe_ (4: 1800/0), and it let Naoki take another Machina monster from his deck to his hand. He set one card before ending his turn.

Kai drew his card, took a look at it, glared at his hand, and then ended his turn without doing anything.

Bryan couldn't understand. "Why would he leave his field completely undefended?"

"Have you not been paying attention around here?" asked Matt. "Cary does that shit all the time. He's obviously building up his hand so he can unleash a one-turn kill."

"Isn't that risky? Machina cards move pretty fast and deal a lot of damage."

First Naoki set one more card. Next he discarded a card from his hand and then moved _Machina Fortress_ (7: 2500/1600) straight to the field. Immediately both of his mechanized weapons of war unloaded explosive bombshells all over Kai's side of the field.

Naoki 8000: Kai 3700

"See? Like that," said Bryan.

Rolling his eyes once more, Matt said, "You know he still has Life Points, right?"

He nodded.

"And what happens when someone still has Life Points?"

"Uh... He gets a bonus pack at the card shop?"

"No, jackass. He gets another turn."

"Oh, right. Obviously."

Matt smirked, worried that Bryan still didn't understand the significance of that. "Another turn means the duel could end in Kai's favor. Let's watch and see."

This time when Kai drew, he instantly reacted by placing down a spell card and dropping another card to the Graveyard. _Twin Twisters_ kicked up on the field, ripping through the landscape surrounding Naoki's monsters. The two of them endured the high winds without effect thanks partly to their bulky mass. Right before each twister tore Naoki's set cards from the ground, Naoki flipped one of the cards up: _Trap Stun_ sent a jolt of electricity through the backfield for both players.

"Tricky," said Bryan. "Hopefully Kai doesn't need trap cards for his OTK."

"He didn't even set any," said Matt. "Settle down and watch. You might learn something."

Kai was quickly joined on the field by a female card with flowing, white hair, a modest dress marked with dragonic images, and blue eyes shimmering like sapphires. _Maiden with Eyes of Blue_ (1: 0/0) was beautifully rendered and carried a striking familiarity with a card Bryan knew couldn't be coming. He found himself holding his breath even as Kai discarded man with blue, flowing robes and activated the effect. _Sage with Eyes of Blue_ cast a spell over the Maiden, slowly evaporating her body into a white light that spread in a controlled drift. With the low arena lighting, the light resembled a constellation in the shape of... a Blue-Eyes White Dragon? Bryan immediately shut himself up. That was impossible! The Blue-Eyes was basically just a legend. Everyone back home always insisted it was a real card, but no one ever saw a real one, even at international tournaments. There weren't even any professional duelists who played that card. Bryan glanced in Matt's direction to see him equally rapt, his gaze unbroken not to the display board but to Kai's physical deck.

The lights in the constellation connected and gave form to a gigantic dragon with pearl-white scales gleaming and eyes shimmering like sapphires. It was a real _Blue-Eyes White Dragon_ (8: 3000/2500). It had to be real: The system's card reader actually recognized the magnetic signal and produced the appropriate hologram for that legendary engine of destruction.

"Oh, shit," Matt muttered. A hush of awe swept over the entire stadium. For once, Bryan felt vindicated in his surprise. This was a legitimately weird scenario. He wasn't the only one shocked to see a Blue-Eyes in real life.

The shock wasn't to end there. When the Sage had cast his spell against the Maiden, her own magic had summoned the Blue-Eyes. The magical energy of the spell, however, also lingered, floating like a blue light in the sky as it took the same size and shape - a second _Blue-Eyes White Dragon_ (8: 3000/2500).

Kai ignored the glory showering in the direction of his monsters. Perhaps he was used to it already, or perhaps he didn't care. While everyone marveled, he merged his two dragons into the single body of _Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon_ (10: 3000/2500). Joined into a single body, the dragon retained separate heads as blue markings spread through its sharpening joints. Without a word from Kai, one dragon head unleashed a beam too bright to stare directly. Aided by the power of a discarded _Honest_ , the visual display doubled the wings on the Blue-Eyes (+4800), providing a layer of feathered wings to bolster its attack power. The beam incinerated _Machina Gearframe_ (1800) with no resistance.

Naoki 5000: Kai 3700

The second head fired an identical blast at _Machina Fortress_ (2500), met with far greater resistance. Machina Fortress attempted to draw and redirect the attack only to find the Blue-Eyes was unaffected by its own energy. The effort exploded the Fortress, and fragments struck the Blue-Eyes. Grievous wounds sent the mighty creature to the graveyard.

Naoki 2700: Kai 3700

"Holy crap," said Bryan. "That dragon's power was insane! Naoki was so lucky his monster's effect killed it." He thought about what Matt had just said about letting the other player have a turn. This was Naoki's chance to turn it around and knock down a legitimate Blue-Eyes deck.

Suddenly a powerful cry filled the arena. It had the volume and strength of a Blue-Eyes, yet the cry was softer and somehow mournful. It came from Kai's card called _Silver's Cry_. Within moments, a _Blue-Eyes White Dragon_ (8: 3000/2500) reemerged from the graveyard at full strength, still primed for battle. Bryan let slip an audible gasp, which finally broke the trance of everyone nearby so they could turn to look and laugh at him. But in spite of their derision, Bryan was shocked by the duel's abrupt ending. The fresh Blue-Eyes blasted Naoki directly and captured all his remaining LP.

Naoki 0: Kai 3700

The crowd's murmur reached higher volumes than Bryan had yet heard during an area duel. It sounded like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon was a real attention-grabber no matter what level of duelist you are.

"Who the hell is that guy?" asked Matt.

Bryan shrugged. "How should I know?"

"You're the friendly one."

"Yeah, but that's not a high bar since you actively hate everyone. I don't just walk around campus befriending everyone."

"Does that mean you _don't_ know?"

"That's right." Looking for assistance, Bryan turned around to Mitsuro, who was chuckling to herself so hard she trembled. She was also an Obelisk, even if she lived in a separate dorm, so it seemed logical that maybe she would know. "Hey, Mitsy."

She shook her head. "You two are like an old, married couple."

Assuming the context of her comment, Bryan just rolled with it. "We get that a lot. Do you know anything about that Kai guy?"

"Presumably you're more curious about the Blue-Eyes. I've never actually met him. He keeps to himself and doesn't talk to many people, so I'm a little curious, too. Hang on a sec." She turned toward the busty student behind her while Bryan whispered to Matt, "You guys could be the same person with the Dark Magician and the Blue-Eyes." Matt couldn't argue with that description based on what Mitsuro had said.

"Hey, Syd," she called to the older girl, who responded with a lift of the chin - the universal sign for "What's up?" Mitsuro continued, "You've been around. Do you know anything about Kai or where he got legitimate Blue-Eyes cards you can actually play in a duel?"

"Syd" shook her head. "I don't know anything about him. All I know about the cards is that there are exactly one hundred copies in existence. I thought nobody would ever use them in a real duel. Maybe they're decent cards with a lot of support but their value is far higher as collector's items. You end up painting a target on your back when you play them in public." Now that she spoke, Bryan had an easier time not staring at her cleavage.

Mitsuro remarked, "Luckily we're on an isolated island. Makes stealing more difficult. How far could a thief go?"

"I heard the god cards were stolen last year," said Syd. Bryan had to surmise from that comment that despite looking older, she was still in her first year at Duel Academy.

Matt grumbled, "Don't be too sure about that."

After sitting quietly by herself for so long, Emily Li seemed drawn by Matt's remark. She slid down the row a few seats until she was close enough not to be a disturbance as the second area duel set up. "I don't mean to interrupt, but did you just say the god cards were not stolen?"

"That's his theory," said Bryan. He added, "I guess. His theory changed a lot in the past few days."

"That's how theories work," said Matt, defending himself.

She nodded. "That's different from all the prevailing theories. Do you have evidence?"

"Different perspective mostly. Facts in this case are easily rotated to be viewed in a new way. When I have something comprehensive and defensible, you'll know it. I wonder if I'll get any bonus card shop credits for solving that case?"

No one really had a response to that. Instead Syd said, "Anyway, I don't know where he got those cards."

Emily said, "Kai claims to be descended from Seto Kaiba." When she received the stare of amazement from the others, she added, "I thought everyone knew that already. The way he tells it, his cards were a gift from Seto Kaiba himself."

Mitsuro laughed. "Obviously not the same Seto Kaiba talked about in legends. Even if he were real, that guy would be, like, 150 years old by now. No one that old has any business having kids."

"The previous president of Kaiba Corp did have the same name," said Syd. "Maybe it's possible he is that guy's son. At least that might explain how he managed to obtain such valuable cards... and then was arrogant enough to use them for dueling instead of keeping them pristine for his collection."

The lights went down again for the next duel and everyone sat back in their seats. Bryan said, "Some people value the cards in different ways from the money," but he got no response because the others turned their attention to the stage where two duelists were setting up their own Duel Disks.

* * *

As soon as the area duels finished, Matt bolted out of the stadium ahead of everyone else and took the stairs two at a time until he reached the administrative offices on the fifth floor. That was where he found Dr. West's office. When the school was built, the headmaster's office had been constructed in a domed room that occupied the entire sixth floor. The dome offered a view of almost the entire island, blocked only by the dormant volcano to the northeast. But the woman two headmasters before Corbin West took over had donated the office to the science department as an observatory. Instead, the headmaster took over one of the smaller office spaces on the fifth floor.

Walking into the office lounge, Matt immediately found a wide-open space set up like a hotel lobby with short couches and plush chairs offering a place for folks to sit and wait for their appointments to begin. Six doors lined the walls on either side, plus a passageway on the far wall. On the left side, he saw the mail room, bearing a giant, segmented box where teachers received their mail from outside the island. The next room up was the secretary's office, followed by the registrar's office where students could go to address concerns with their course schedules. Across from there was the vice-chancellor's office. It was locked, given Dr. Lankford was running the area duels. The room to Matt's right was Dr. West's office, and the door to that office was ajar.

The room in between the two chancellor offices was labeled as the Work Room. Matt assumed that was vague code that meant it was where personnel files were housed, but since he didn't care about that at the time, he didn't bother asking why a technological gaming company like Kaiba Corp would bother with hard copies of their files when it was so easy and reliable to upload everything to cloud computing.

Dr. West's current office, while not the size of an observatory, was still notably larger than any of the other faculty offices. In fact, Matt mentally calculated it had two-point-five times the floor space that his dorm room had for its three residents. Despite that, Dr. West somehow found a way to give an impressive air of chaos and disorganization. Architecturally speaking, the floor plan was basic: The desk sat on the far wall bedside the windows and several fichus plants and cacti, two rows of chairs faced each other surrounding a glass table in the middle of the room, and bookshelves lined the other two walls.

Every bookshelf looked like it had vomited its contents to the floor. Actually, that's not right. Vomiting would leave some of the shelves empty. Every bookshelf was filled to capacity, and yet there were still enormous stacks of books, periodicals, journals, printed manuscripts, reference texts, video media, and classroom papers all over the room. It was more like an episode of _Storage Wars_ , or that episode of _Monk_ where you meet his brother Ambrose who had collected all the newspapers for thirty years. Dr. West had made his office out of a storage room owned by a pack rat. If he had stayed in the observatory office, he would still lack a clean space.

Despite the mess in his office, Dr. West was very well kempt. His mustache was neatly trimmed to the same length and color as his thinning, gray hair, and although he was twice the man around that he was in his youth, he wore his uniform proudly to near-perfect standards—only the top button on his collar was undone.

As a test, Matt lingered in the open doorway for a moment just to see how long it took Dr. West to break his concentration and notice his visitor. Something on his laptop had him so rapt that the entire world was blocked out for at least thirty-seven seconds. Finally he noticed Matt and put on a broad smile that curled up the ends of his mustache. "Sorry about that. I was busy with this report and didn't see you, Mr. Luther. Please come in."

Matt was intrigued. The chancellor remembered his name without prompting.

"Sorry to bug you, Dr. West."

"Don't be silly. That's what office hours are for. Bug away." He moved from his desk to one of the chairs in the middle of the office and motioned Matt to the seat on the opposite side of the glass table. "What can I do for you? If I recall, you aren't in my cognitive psychology course this semester."

With a nod, Matt said, "That's accurate. I wasn't looking for information about your class. I was actually hoping to hear a little bit about the burglary from last year."

"A burglary?"

"Yes, sir. You'll recall someone allegedly stole all nine of the god cards that are granted to the Guardian Duelers on campus."

He furrowed his brow briefly and then returned to his smile. "Ah, yes. I remember. The cards were returned to their owners, if I recollect."

"That's the story."

Dr. West noticed the hesitation in Matt's voice. "You don't agree?"

For once, Matt took a moment to consider his words carefully. He was speaking to the school's headmaster, after all—not the best person to annoy with blunt language. Punishments might be quicker and more absolute.

"It's a mystery. The perpetrator was never caught. Even if the stolen goods found their way back to their owners, I'm still bothered by the events. Obviously you and the rest of the administration found enough cause to build the Guardhouse so the Guardians were no longer readily accessible by other students."

"We can't take all the credit. That was a suggestion brought to us by a Guardian Dueler who graduated two years ago. He had felt threatened by some of his classmates, and so Nashida mentioned that putting them in a separate building might help. After the theft, we simply sped up the timeline."

Matt made a note on his phone. "Who's Nashida?"

"Professor Aseel. Sorry for the familiarity slip. She teaches the computer classes—programming and software, the stuff I could never wrap my head around. She's also the faculty advisor for the Guardian Duelers."

At first Matt moved to scratch out his note. Knowing the name of another professor wasn't that interesting. He stopped himself after two strikethroughs and glanced thoughtfully at Dr. West. "Was she already the faculty advisor before they moved into a new building? Or did they share the Obelisk advisors?"

"She was always their advisor. From the beginning, the Guardian Duelers deserved a separate advisor since their cards are unlike the others. That has been Nashida since shortly after she joined us twelve years ago."

Now Matt left his notes alone and didn't bother to fix the strikethrough. Pr. Aseel's history as a faculty advisor wasn't interesting. Had she been assigned after the Guardhouse went up, it could speak to motive. But if she was always around, why wait twelve years to steal cards and then return them?

"How did you find out the cards were stolen?" asked Matt, continuing with his original line of questioning.

Dr. West huffed. "That's a question better asked to the Guardian Duelers. I only learned after they told Nashida and she passed the word on up to the administration."

"Okay, fair enough. After you heard, what did you do?"

"I stepped back and let Sergeant Stilson do his job. He led the investigation. Have you heard his report?"

"I started there. Most of it was redacted, like he didn't want students knowing all the details."

Dr. West made a note on a message pad he kept on the glass table. "I will check with him. Stilson is detail-oriented, so the redacted segments may pertain less to the god cards and more toward personal items discovered during the room inspections. If he and I agree there is any information previously redacted that is not personal in nature and cannot be traced to specific students, past or present, I will see that you get a copy without the redactions."

That was already more than Matt had hoped to get out of the meeting. "I appreciate that, sir. Were you part of the room inspections?"

"No. I'm getting along in years, so constant kneeling and standing is hard on me. Kevin was partnered with campus police for inspections. Gabby assisted inspections of the girls' dorm. Only those two were involved in order to introduce as little variation in the process as possible. They saw things differently from how I might've."

"Understandable. Last question set: How did you find the cards?"

The chancellor motioned toward the door. "They were left in my mailbox."

"Was there a note?"

"No note. Just nine cards inside an envelope."

"Did you have the police investigate?"

Dr. West made a face like Matt had just suggested the most ludicrous idea possible. "What was there to investigate? I had the cards back. The professors and the Guardian Duelers were all relieved. We handed the cards back to the students and went about our business improving security for the whole campus."

"What if one of the students stole the cards in the first place?"

"Then I would be fascinated to find out the hiding spot that was used. The police combed the entire island and found no sign of them for two weeks. If you don't mind a thought experiment pushed your way to consider for your investigation: What benefit would anyone derive from stealing the cards? They are too valuable and visible to be sold without drawing attention."

Matt shrugged. "In my experience, sir, legality doesn't matter much. If anyone is interested in owning something, then someone else can sell it. A good fence knows how to find discrete rich people who can skirt the law and the authorities."

Dr. West was silent for only a couple of beats, but it was long enough for Matt to assume that he was being judged. He had let it slip that his knowledge of fencing stolen goods was learned through experience. Maybe that kind of slip-up could get him in trouble. Without proof, worst-case scenario was he was given a wide berth by everyone while the teachers kept an eye on him. Enhanced safety measures plus people don't talk to him? Hardly a punishment given the atmosphere of thievery.

But what the chancellor actually said was, "If you are correct, your story suggests the cards were not stolen after all. Or if they were, maybe the thief had a change of heart."

Matt suppressed the urge to make a pun about the spell card called Change of Heart. Instead, he decided that he wasn't going to get anything else out of Dr. West in this meeting on the topic. Especially because he had seen a few other students poke their heads through the door, and Dr. West wasn't going to devote his full office hours to a closed case.

"If you happen to learn anything in your investigation, I'm curious to know," he said as he stood. Giving Matt a sincere smile, he added, "Projects are good for keeping the mind keen without stressing too hard over your studies. Just don't let it affect your schoolwork." That sounded like Dr. West giving his permission for Matt to keep looking into the missing god cards. Once again, the chancellor surprised him with his level of cooperation.

"Thank you, sir." He noted, _Mini-mystery: Is Dr. West telling the truth, or is he just that confident that I won't find anything?_

* * *

"Kasumi told me about _The Outpost_. I guess people post cards they're looking for and let other people come to them with trade offers. Honestly with my limited supply of spare cards, I've got my fingers crossed that people will just be glad to get rid of their Hero cards and will make me generous offers," Bryan explained as he sat in the sitting room of the Guardhouse.

Mikey shook his head. " _The Outpost_ is a lost cause. People aren't going to give you their best there. If you really want people to give you a good deal, you've got to duel for it."

Erica pointed out, "That's part of the problem to begin with. Bryan's already struggling because of his deck's instability. How is he supposed to duel for better cards like that?" Bryan was glad someone else pointed that out for him. If he had been the one to say it, he would have come off as whiny.

But Mikey didn't seem to buy the logic. "I'm just sayin' the guy who wants it most wins the most."

"That's not a logical argument at Duel Academy," said Dave. "Everyone here wants the win. A lot of people act like each duel is life or death and they still lose sometimes. Wanting it isn't enough. Luck has its place, but you need to control your deck in order to win."

Mikey shrugged. "That's not how I see it. Roll with the deck and let the so-called _Heart of the Cards_ guide you. That's how I've always dueled." His attitude wouldn't be so upsetting if he weren't basically right about that. Mikey Brittle had always been lucky in his duels. Either he would end up with a stellar hand or else his opponent would draw crap. He was similar to Matt in that vein. But Bryan couldn't afford to be outwardly rude or honest about it because Mikey had a copy of Elemental Hero Shadow Mist that he didn't care for and didn't mind letting go. The problem was he wasn't any closer to deciding that Bryan _deserved_ the card.

Justin said, "I'm about to duel you in his place. Don't be such a dick, Mikey. Not everyone was born dripping with luck. Even I didn't get my god card until this year and no one has ever had a deck more perfect for Raviel than I do."

With a wide, toothy grin, Mikey replied, "Can't be helped. When you got it, flaunt it."

"Isn't that from _The Producers_?" asked Bryan.

Suddenly Mikey was uncomfortable. "Don't know whatcher talkin' about."

"It totally is. The song Uma Thurman sings," said Dave. Everyone got a short chuckle at Mikey's expense. He seemed to absorb it with good humor until his attitude got just a little harsher.

"Tell you what, kid. You caught my pop culture reference. I respect that. Whenever you want to duel me for Shadow Mist, I'll accept."

Bryan replied, "Do I have to win in order to get the card?" Mikey's returned expression gave Bryan the distinct impression that he had just lost whatever respect Mikey claimed to have for him.

Dave said, "Seriously, guys. Bryan's just here to ask about trades. If you don't have what he needs or you don't want to give it up, then you don't have to stick around."

The front door opened and muffled voices made their way to the sitting room. Erica hopped up from the couch to make her way over and catch whoever just entered. She got up too eagerly, though, and her ankle caught on the leg of the coffee table. She tumbled forward, just barely catching herself on the floor, but her skirt had flipped up. Bryan was at her side and only saw how smooth and thin her legs were, but Mikey was in position to catch a full view of the moon. Blushing despite her Euro-Asian complexion, Erica pushed her skirt back down and slowly walked out of the room.

Laughing and smiling widely, Mikey asked, "Why would I leave the show?"

Bryan hadn't spent enough time with Erica to label her as a klutz, so he asked Justin in hushed tones, "Does she trip a lot?"

"Only when I'm around," said Mikey. "It's not just because of my striking good looks, but for those, too." Bryan had to assume it was Mikey bragging more about just being lucky.

"How was it?" he asked.

Mikey shook his head and lied through his teeth. "I didn't see a damn thing." For all the ways Mikey was so lucky, he made the decision to go to Duel Academy far later than most. Being in his third year of school and twenty-one years old, pursuing the girls younger than eighteen could potentially embroil him in legal trouble. Only a handful of the girls currently enrolled were old enough not to carry the word _statutory_. At least out loud, he would always deny anything that could be interpreted sexually.

When Erica came back, she had another girl with her. Bryan had definitely seen her before, but he couldn't place where. It was a small campus, but a lot went on there. The girl offered a short wave to everyone else in the room before Erica asked, "Jade, have you met Bryan yet?"

"I have not," she said. "Not officially, at least. I have heard about you." He could hear a soft British accent in her voice, but even more noticeable was that her eyes didn't match. One was light brown and one was light blue. He had heard of that odd mutation before, but he couldn't remember what it was called. Heteretina? Chronomaly? Neither sounded quite right. And he wasn't sure if it was rude to mention it in front of her, so he opted not to say anything and avoid offending her.

But when he stood to shake her hand, he realized she wasn't much taller than Erica, leaving him to tower over her. She had looked taller when he was sitting. "Nice to meet you, Jade. I'm a little curious where you heard about me, though."

She laughed. "Nothing to fret over. I read the student directory sometimes. Even if we have never met, I have read every student's name at least once. You are in the Slifer dorm." She gave a half shrug, motioning toward the jacket he wore. "Obviously. But I believe you are in the same room with Jack Hansbury and Matthew Luther."

Bryan forced a smile and nodded. "That's… eerie, honestly."

Jade winced. "Oh, I am sorry. I forget that bothers some people. Just think of me as an insatiable reader. The student directory just helps me to remember names before I meet someone. It saves the effort I need later to remember who you are. Now I have a face to go with the name."

"Fair enough," said Bryan, relaxing just a bit. Jade had a tendency to keep looking away from him briefly and then glancing back even while she spoke. He remembered a kid from middle school who did that all the time because he had ADHD. At first glance, he assumed Jade had the same issue. Maybe that explained why she bothered to read the student directory, too.

Erica brought them back to the purpose of his visit. "Bryan runs an Elemental Hero deck. He came here to chat and see if any of us had any Hero cards we'd be willing to trade for."

Joy flashed across Jade's face. "I might just! Let me run to my room and check for you." She bounded out of the room and disappeared. Bryan couldn't help noticing the lecherous look that he would never admit on Mikey's face.

Dave commented, "Kinda surprised she doesn't have all of her cards memorized already since she memorized the student directory." That earned a chuckle from everyone—even Erica, who shushed him for being rude.

Bryan again began mentioning some of the cards he had available for trade. Unfortunately his total collection was rather small. Once his deck was built with the required forty cards plus his extra deck, he didn't exactly have top-grade options left over. Dave and Justin were helping him to figure out the best cards he had and how he could put them to use as trades.

Justin kept coming back to the idea that Bryan should pursue the Masked Heroes, especially if he wanted to focus more on the fusion cards. Bryan had mentioned that he was attached to the Elemental Hero fusions, in part because the cards were around a long time and he was nostalgic. Erica pointed out that xyz monsters could be more versatile for him, but that also meant they were more popular. Most of the really useful xyz monsters could work despite the deck theme, so everyone wanted them, hiking up the trade cost. On that note, Bryan wanted to stick to gathering fusions that people were more likely to trade away.

When Jade came back, she walked in with two more Guardians: Yul Tan and Gima Utamuro, whom Bryan had already met on previous visits. Both guys had somewhat sullen expressions as their default condition, but they were just a little quiet while being generally friendly. Yul had Chinese heritage whereas Gima, from southeastern Japan, was as much a local as anyone could be at Duel Academy.

"Look who I found upstairs," said Jade.

Erica smiled at the other two. "Hey, guys. I didn't realize you were home." Bryan noticed that Erica was a hugger—that is, she enjoyed hugging her friends as a greeting. Yet she didn't hug these two. Considering the size of her smile, he assumed it was their decision, possibly a cultural difference.

Yul nodded in Bryan's direction. "Jade says you want Hero trades."

"That's what I'm looking for," he said. "Unfortunately I don't have a whole lot of stuff to offer, but there is still a chance we can strike a bargain. Have you got any cards you're willing to part with?"

Yul handed over a small pile of cards for review. Bryan leafed through only to realize they were primarily omni-Heroes, the name given to Elemental Hero fusions that required a monster of a specific element instead of a specific name. Bryan already had them all. "I'm sorry," he said as he handed them back.

"It is my apology," said Yul.

"Well, hang on," said Erica. She slid one of the cards from the back to the top of the pile. "You can always use another copy of The Shining. Fusions don't get duplicated unless you have extra cards."

Bryan hesitated. "You think?"

"I'm just saying you should consider it. After you figure out whether you can find all the cards on your wish list or not, then come back to Yul and see if he'll still trade this one. This guy has such a huge collection of rare cards that he'll never miss this one."

Shrugging, Yul said, "Take it for now."

Now Bryan was really overwhelmed. "Are you sure?"

He nodded back. "If you change mind, bring back. We figure trade later. It's like investment."

Justin smiled and pointed at Yul. "I like that. Invest in his deck so that he can get stronger. And then maybe he can use Mikey's strategy to win some of the other cards you're looking for but no one will duel you since you're a Guardian." Turns out Justin had a bit of a devious side to him. Suddenly Bryan felt like he was in a spy movie playing the incompetent, undercover bumbler.

Although Gima understood English as well as anyone could expect of him, he didn't speak it well and that made him a man of few words. He said the words "Elemental Hero" in a thick, Japanese dialect followed by slicing his hand sideways in the air to indicate that he didn't have any. But then he handed Bryan a copy of Gemini Spark. "Neos Alius," he said. Bryan had to read the text on the card before he even remembered that Neos Alius is a Gemini monster and easily served as a catalyst for the destruction effect Gemini Spark offered.

Bryan felt compelled to nod, kind of like a short bow. "Thank you." He noticed Dave and Justin snickering and assumed they were mocking him for bowing to the Japanese guy. Maybe he watched _Karate Kid_ too many times. "I don't know what I can trade you for this."

Gima shook his head rapidly, suggesting he didn't want anything for it. Gemini Spark wasn't a rare card—it just happened to be one Bryan lacked.

"I'll help spot you on the trades, if it makes you feel better," said Dave.

"And how do I pay you back?"

Dave shrugged. "Honestly, there's not much I'm looking for. If anything, maybe you can trade me a couple of card packs from the shop. The excitement of opening a new pack for the sake of collecting might be worth a few Hero cards."

"Yeah, yeah, less yapping," said Erica. She playfully pushed Bryan back down to the couch and wagged her hand like she wanted him to give her something. "You've got some new cards to work with now. Let's get you deckbuilding and playtesting."

* * *

 **Thanks go to readers _Titanic X_ , _Amourenvie_ , _SketchyWolf_ , _Vstriker_ , and _KingofJokers23_ for my guest OCs in this chapter. This is yet another chapter where I prove that I don't feel right skipping straight to the main story. A lot of information in here is building up to it, but the continued character growth feels necessary to me. Sorry for all that. The next chapter will bring out an event familiar to GX fans - the School Duel, but with a twist!**


	12. A Visitors' Tournament

Chapter 12: A Visitor's Tournament

One week every fall, Duel Academy-Central Primus (its formal title) played host to all four of its extended campuses, spread across the globe. The annual School Duel Festival was highly anticipated by students all around Duel Academy, in no small part because the festival lasted four days without lectures or homework. Well, mostly without homework: Some of the teachers for the dueling classes gave report assignments related to the festival. "Compare the winning decks" or "Describe differences in playstyle between the academies" or "Explain how the festival made you feel." Bryan found himself assigned a one-page narrative to explain the origins of the School Duel Festival. Dr. Houtz assured everyone that they could find the answer by attending the festivities just as easily as by burying themselves in the library—that didn't stop students like Cary from taking the library route just so the assignment would be finished and off her plate throughout the festival.

Cary had mixed feelings about the quality of the festival. The campus had undergone an impressive transformation from its mundane appearance into a far more multicultural appearance. The school had always been an international campus, but the efforts to make the visitors feel welcome brought out more of the ethnic decorations: country flags, historical tapestries, posters printed in multiple languages, and food stands with enough variety to guarantee everyone either felt at home or felt in a new country, dependent on dining preferences.

But despite the superficial efforts, Cary felt in reality the school hadn't done much to create an actual festival atmosphere. There were no rides or anything. The only attractions were performances of some kind by the various student clubs surrounding the intercampus dueling tournaments, which were the primary draw. A brass quintet (she didn't even know the campus had any instrumentalists) performed during the welcome ceremony for the four visiting schools. At least she knew ahead of time about the dance team that practiced in the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, and unless she wore industrial ear muffs she couldn't go without hearing the drumline practicing their thing outside the main building every Monday through Thursday. Along with demonstrations from other clubs, they made for amusing distractions but hardly built the air of festivity Cary had hoped for.

There wasn't even a Ferris wheel. Maybe she was confusing a festival with a carnival. The two words were used almost interchangeably in her hometown.

Like everyone else, Cary's focus was on the tournament for the intercampus dueling teams. Fifteen total teams were competing in a tournament bracket over the next two days for the glory of claiming worldwide bragging rights. Only the top three teams from each school were permitted to join the competition, and her teammates on Team OTK helped her hold firmly to the second-place position. The Guardian Duelers were not only the top team at Duel Academy-Central Primus—which had been shortened to "Central" for the duration of the festival—they were also the defending champs from the previous year's festival. As the Number 1 Seed for the tournament, the Guardian Duelers had the honor of a "bye" round, automatically progressing to Round 2 without needing to duel any of the remaining fourteen teams.

OTK and Guardian Duelers were joined by Victorious Secret, the team comprising duelists from the Obelisk Blue Girls' dormitory. In the semester league play, Victorious Secret were currently tied with the Duel Dragonists, but they held the tie-breaker and thus earned their way into the School Duel Festival. Participation in the competition was a high honor that came with several internal campus perks; those perks would soon multiply for whichever team managed to win.

The first round pitted Team OTK – Central against the Team OTK of East Academy.

"I didn't even know there was another chapter of OTK," said Cee-Cee, wiping her face of sweat.

Cary knew. Dave and Justin had told her previously. There was so many ways to build an OTK deck that it only made sense the students of Central Duel Academy weren't the only ones to figure it out—especially given the very idea of a Team OTK originated in the pro leagues. Team OTK was just a bunch of students helping each other get good at copying the professionals.

"This heat is awful," said Fats. He was sweating buckets. From the very moment he stepped outside, he had already formed sweat circles around his underarms and neck, visible all the way through his jacket. "All semester we've been inching toward a cold winter, and suddenly the first day we have to be outside in the sun it's two hundred degrees."

"Unzip your jacket if it's that bad," said Cee-Cee, offering her suggestion. She had already taken her jacket off and tied it around her waist, revealing her cropped, black tank top that showed her midriff. Otherwise she maintained the Duel Academy standard attire. She had it easier than Fats, though, since a skirt was infinitely more breathable than black pants. Personally, Cary could handle the heat. It was the side effects of the sun she wanted to avoid—hence she wore leggings under her skirt whereas Cee-Cee and the other girls went bare-legged.

Fats shook his head. "I'm wearing one of those moisture packs under my jacket. I don't want it to get my cards wet and ruin them. Or short-circuit the duel station." Years ago, card sleeves would have been a simple and convenient solution for the former concern, but the embedded microchips that made the cards usable in duel stations and Duel Disks couldn't be read through the sleeves. To counter that limitation, cards were cut of heavier material to make them sturdier and embossed with stronger chemicals to protect against tactile acids and oils. But even though his cards weren't really at risk of being ruined from a bit of moisture, Fats was probably more concerned about how ridiculous he might look if everyone could see the moisture pack.

At the mention of moisture pack issues, Cee-Cee's eyes sprang open. "Sprung a leak, did you?" She reached into her pocket for her Swiss Army Knife and began twirling it in her fingers. "Want me to take a look?"

Fats smiled at her. "I absolutely do, starting tonight. This is not coming off of me until I get to go back inside."

"Time's up fooling around," said Miyu. Thing is, Miyu spoke verbally even less often than Cary did. Miyu was born deaf and only ever spoke using Japanese Sign Language. After three months of spending time with her and the rest of OTK, Cary believed she was starting to get the hang of the language. She attributed a lot of nuance that Miyu may never have intended, but Cary definitely believed she got the gist of each message.

Pointing to Fats and then to Cee-Cee, Miyu indicated that the two of them were to join Rikuto in the first round. Each team decided on only three duelists for each round, and the matchups were randomized from there.

Fats was matched against a guy who ran a Trickstar OTK theme that knocked out most of Fats' Life Points before he even got a turn. Given the time he needed to set up his Naturia OTK, he couldn't pull out the victory.

Next up, Rikuto was able to upset a Six Samurai OTK and initiate a perfect Batteryman OTK in retaliation. Cee-Cee had felt increased pressure after Fats lost because she knew she would have to win for her team to progress to the next round. Now that Rikuto pulled it out, the pressure mounted even higher. Unfortunately all the tie-breaking rules like leftover Life Points and turn count were in East Academy's favor.

Cee-Cee was up against an American whose attitude was obvious just by the smirk on his lip. She wasn't a particularly busty girl although she was in good shape, but this boy didn't look like the type to have any ogling criteria as long as she had boobs. He had long, greasy hair that perfectly complemented the douchebag look.

"Your name is Cee-Cee." He wasn't asking. He stated it as certainly as if he were revealing some deep, dark secret that he shouldn't know.

"Thanks. You are…?"

He smirked. "Going to keep you guessing."

Cee-Cee offered a handshake, which he was slow to accept. His hand was sweaty. "If you say so…" She peered up at the duel arena where her name and his name were both posted for all the spectators to see. "…Hiddle. That's a new one."

"I'm the only one of my kind."

She rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately there are all too many guys like you." The two quickly got set up on opposite ends of the arena and prepared their cards. A virtual coin toss selected Cee-Cee to receive the first turn.

Like all her teammates, Cee-Cee tended to occupy much of the air time with her turns. "Normal summon _Morphtronic Celfon_ (1: 100/100)," she started, summoning a small monster that looked like a Transformer cellphone. At the size of a pack of gum, it wasn't intimidating. "Activate Celfon," she continued. A virtual die rolled across the field and revealed a two. She placed two cards from her deck onto the display field one at a time. While she returned three to her deck for shuffling, the fourth stayed on the field. "Special summon _Morphtronic Remoten_ (3: 300/1200)," she said as an iPod appeared with arms and legs made out of metal tape. Another tiny monster on the field. "Synchro summon Armory Arm (4: 1800/1200)." Her two tiny machines produced a tiny pulse that resonated in the air until the two combined into a mechanical hand that moved autonomously, kind of like a hermit crab.

Now that she had a Morphtronic monster in her graveyard, Cee-Cee could "Special summon _Morphtronic Smartfon_ (1: 100/100)." This one looked similar to Celfon except it was black and purple and almost resembled a lighter. "Activate Smartfon," she called as another die rolled across the virtual field. This time the result was four, so she took four cards from her deck and revealed them briefly to everyone watching. She kept one of the four and returned the rest to her deck. "Now activate _D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation_."

Hiddle groaned. "Finally, a card that isn't Morphtronic. I was beginning to think you didn't have any variety at all to your cards."

Cee-Cee paused just long enough to frown. "I'm not doing anything weird," she said. "These cards just have a lot of effects."

"Yeah," said Hiddle snidely, "but good duelists can do it a lot quicker."

Only a brief moment of sadness crossed Cee-Cee's consciousness. "I get it now. You're just messing with me. I'll keep it going."

He grunted. "That's not…" but he trailed off without finishing.

The reincarnation effect brought back the tiny, yellow Transformer. "Special Summon _Morphtronic Celfon_ (1: 100/100)," said Cee-Cee. "Activate Celfon." Once more a die rolled across her field, revealing just one this time. She flipped one card from her deck to show everyone, and then she played it. "Special summon _Morphtronic Smartfon_ (1: 100/100)." She received a duplicate of the lighter-looking smartphone monster and then immediately added, "Activate Smartfon." This time the die rolled a six, and Cee-Cee revealed six cards from the top of her deck. Of all the cards she showed off, most were Morphtronic monsters. This time was no different and she kept another Morphtronic in her hand.

"Synchro summon _T.G. Hyper Librarian_ (5: 2400/1800)," she called. One of the Smartfon (1) began to ring, and Armory Arm (4) seemed to answer it by shattering into resonant sound waves. Instead of a machine, her monsters had transformed into a tall human wearing a flowy, white cape over his black-and-white robes. A miter kept his eyes well hidden. "Also Synchro summon _Formula Synchron_ (2: 200/1500)," she said as her remaining Smartfon (1) rang in tune with her Celfon (1). It looked like a racecar that had collided with a blue robot and become a single body. The Hyper Librarian responded to the resonance of the two machines that built the racecar by pointing one glowing finger at Cee-Cee's deck. Per his effect, she was able to draw one additional card.

"My god," moaned Hiddle. "Your turns take _so long!_ "

Cee-Cee clicked her tongue and pointed at him. "Just give me a minute. Or maybe five because I think I have a lot more cards to play. This was a really good opening hand."

Waving his hand as if to brush off the comment, he said, "Whatever you say, Poker Face."

It was easy enough for Cee-Cee to keep going, but she really was annoyed that a kid would come to her home turf and be so flippant. Wasn't he also an OTK duelist? Shouldn't he know by know how long some of the strategies take to set in?

"Activate _Morphtronic Repair Unit_ and special summon _Morphtronic Celfon_ (1: 100/100)." A series of magnets hovered across the field and collected yellow pieces of machinery from the graveyard, finally producing the monster Cee-Cee chose to revive. "Activate Celfon." When the die rolled once more, she revealed two of her cards and added, "Special summon _Morphtronic Scopen_ (3: 800/1400)," a machine named for a microscope but actually somewhat resembling Thomas the Tank Engine. Scopen (3+1) had the distinction of being the first monster Cee-Cee played in defense mode, and it received a level-up as a result.

Hiddle snickered. "I can see up your monster's butt with that magnifying glass there."

Cee-Cee frowned. "Well I can see through to your soul. And you're kind of rotten." She continued her turn over his respondent sneer. "Synchro summon _Armades, Keeper of Boundaries_ (5: 2300/1500)," she said as her Celfon (1) resonated with her Scopen (3+1) and transfigured into a two-sided demon. One side spread a bat-like wing and emanated fire while the other spread a feathery wing and frosted the air. "Activate Hyper Librarian." Once again her Librarian pointed a glowing finger at her deck and allowed her to draw for having synchro summoned.

"Done yet?" groaned her opponent.

"No," she huffed. "Activate _Reasoning_." She glared at the guy. "Pick a number, please."

Hiddle just smirked and stroked his bare-ass chin. He probably couldn't grow stubble, let alone a full beard. "Let me think about that. Of all the monsters you've played so far, Most have been Level 1. Most duelists like to stack a bunch of Level 4 monsters in their decks so they have some actual powerhouses, but I bet you haven't even considered that strategy. That narrows that down. And nothing has been Level 2 yet, so I'll just venture a guess that the next monster we'll see in your deck is Level 1."

Cee-Cee only had to flip two cards before revealing Morphtronic Scopen (3: 800/1400). "Special summon _Morphtronic Scopen_ (3+1)!" Once more with her Tank Engine/microscope in defense mode, it gained a level. "Synchro summon _Ally of Justice Catastor_ (5: 2200/1200)." Celfon (1) resonated again with Scopen (3+1) to create a gigantic, mechanical mite with spiked golden legs and tail and a big, green laser face. "Activate Hyper Librarian." Having synchro summoned again, she was able to draw another card. Despite all her plays, she still held four cards in her hand and wasn't done by a long shot.

"Synchro summon _Shooting Quasar Dragon_ (12: 4000/4000)." Formula Synchron (2) began racing circles around the field so fast it moved as fast as sound. Hyper Librarian (5) and Armades (5) both resonated and transformed into a massive dragon that shimmered with the same white light as the celestial body it was named for.

Suddenly Hiddle fell quiet as he realized that maybe slow and steady really _can_ win the duel sometimes.

Feeling better about herself and hiding the temptation to be smug, Cee-Cee continued, "Activate _Junk Box_ ; special summon _Morphtronic Celfon_ (1: 100/100)." Her spell brought out a box of spare parts that rapidly assembled themselves into the shape of her tiny, yellow monster. "Activate Celfon." Again she rolled a die, this time revealing six of her cards before she could add, "Special summon _Morphtronic Smartfon_ (1: 100/100)." She showed her black-screened monster, which may well have been one of only a handful of smart phones without a cracked screen on the entire campus. "Activate Smartfon." With a single card revealed, she moved another Morphtronic monster to her hand. "Synchro summon _Formula Synchron_ (2: 200/1500) again." She watched her Celfon (1) and Smartfon (1) merge once again in ringtones.

"Activate _Morphtronic Repair Unit_ to special summon _Morphtronic Remoten_ (3: 300/1200)." More magnets showed up on the field to drag from her graveyard the parts of the iPod and reassemble them into the shape of a viable monster. "Activate Remoten." By banishing a Celfon from her graveyard, Cee-Cee moved her final Celfon from her deck into her hand.

"Oh, my god," muttered Hiddle. He lacked the patience for a real OTK duel. But at least he hadn't trash talked her since he saw Shooting Quasar Dragon.

Which gave Cee-Cee another idea. "Synchro summon _Stardust Dragon_ (8: 2500/2000)." From Catastor (5) and Remoten (3) came another dragon in white scales, shining almost as brightly combined with the blue light of its underbelly. "Now synchro summon _Shooting Star Dragon_ (10: 3300/2500)" by combining her racecar with the smaller of her dragons. Their combination created a dragon only slightly inferior to the one already on the field and, quite frankly, very similar in appearance. Quasar had smoother bones and Star had segmented scales—that was crux of the difference.

"Are you done yet?" he asked.

"No, I still have more cards."

"How? This is so ridiculous. It's still just the first turn."

Cee-Cee looked just as shocked. "It was a really good hand. I mean…?" She showed her card before playing it. _Soul Charge_ meant she could special summon as many monsters from the graveyard as her field could hold, in exchange for a thousand Life Points each. "Special summon _Morphtronic Scopen_ (3: 800/1400), _Ally of Justice Catastor_ (5: 2200/1200), and _Morphtronic Remoten_ (3: 300/1200)," she said. She dropped 3000 points for that play, but it gave her one more big monster: "Synchro summon _Red Dragon Archfiend_ (8: 3000/2000)." Catastor (5) and Remoten (3) combined into a dragon of black and red, with bat-like wings and three horns on its head.

She glanced toward the sidelines where the other members of her team watched. From the look in Haruki's eye, she could tell he was conflicted. On one hand, he had called her their "secret weapon against Justin Nussbaum." He also carried the Red Dragon Archfiend. But Haruki was also excited to see that maybe her play would frighten the Guardian Duelers and psychologically make them easier targets. After all, Cee-Cee could play that dragon a little better.

"Special summon _Glow-Up Bulb_ (1: 100/100)." She dropped one card from her deck to the graveyard in order to sprout a tiny, blossoming flower in that spot. Suddenly the Bulb (1) and Scopen (3) resonated with the fiery dragon until all three of them merged into a much larger dragon with red scales all over and a single, blue gem in its chest. "Synchro summon _Red Nova Dragon_ (12: 3500 + 6000/3000)."

Hiddle almost choked. "9500 attack points? Are you kidding?" He tried to count it out on his fingers, but Cee-Cee's turn had gone on far too long for that. Her dragon gained 500 points per tuner monster in her graveyard, and she had painstakingly moved twelve of them.

There, Cee-Cee ended her turn.

Cee-Cee: 3 cards, 5000 LP

Hiddle: 5 cards, 8000 LP

He looked at his hand and cursed for a full five minutes. It was almost painful for Cee-Cee to watch how upset he was, but she opted not to antagonize him. It must be hard for him to see a potential OTK strategy go down in flames because the opponent summoned three huge dragons in a single turn. The first turn, no less. Had that happened on any other turn, Cee-Cee might have won already. Instead she was forced to wait patiently and see what Hiddle was going to do to give himself a shot at victory.

"Son of a bitch," he snapped as he slapped a monster card face-down, followed by three more cards thrown all at once.

Cee-Cee: 3 cards, 5000 LP

Hiddle: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Looking at her hand, Cee-Cee was ready to end the duel outright, if Hiddle's three face-down cards would let her.

"Activate _Foolish Burial_."

Before she could even select her monster, Hiddle interrupted. "I'll chain _Sinister Shadow Games_." He pulled _Shaddoll Hound_ from his deck and dropped it in the graveyard, lifting the shadows on his _Shaddoll Dragon_ (4: 1900/0). Cee-Cee's card resolved with _Morphtronic Lantron_ in the graveyard, which gave _Red Nova Dragon_ (3500 + 6500) another power boost.

And then began a lengthy chain. Shaddoll Hound's effect targeted _Red Nova Dragon_ to be put in defense mode; _Shaddoll Dragon_ targeted _Shooting Quasar Dragon_ to be returned to Cee-Cee's hand; Quasar's effect negated that effect, preserving itself on the field; Hiddle played _Compulsory Evacuation Device_ and targeted Quasar again; and he activated _Super Polymerization_ to fuse his only monster with _Red Nova Dragon_ on Cee-Cee's field.

When all the effects resolved, Cee-Cee was left with only _Shooting Star Dragon_ (3300) against Hiddle's _El Shaddoll Winda_ (5: 2200/800)—a shadowy, female rider on the back of a bird-like dragon. As her shining dragon shot into the sky and u-turned into a calamitous collision with the opposite field, obliterating the Shaddoll fusion, Cee-Cee ended her turn.

Through a sneer, Hiddle said, "Unfortunately that's all I can do right now." His sneer shifted into a shifty grin. "On the other hand, I broke the shit out of your OTK, didn't I?"

Cee-Cee: 3 cards, 5000 LP

Hiddle: 1 card, 6900 LP

Stuck without much in his hand to play, Hiddle summoned _Armageddon Knight_ (4: 1400/1200). The black-clad buccaneer slashed the deck and sent Shaddoll Hedgehog straight to the graveyard, but clinging to the Hedgehog's bristles was another dark, Shaddoll monster, which released into Hiddle's hand.

Cee-Cee: 3 cards, 5000 LP

Hiddle: 2 cards, 6900 LP

He didn't say anything at first. Cee-Cee only noticed it was her turn because the console flashed. Apparently her opponent was running on empty at the moment. "Activate _Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders_ ," she announced. Dropping Redox and Morphtronic Boarden (earth) into the Graveyard, she transformed the field into fire as she revived a monster in her graveyard. "Special summon _Red Nova Dragon_ (3500 + 6500)."

Hiddle had no cards except for _Armageddon Knight_ (1400) to defend himself. Once the station switched to the Battle Phase, even he knew it was all over. The field erupted with the fire of an exploding star as 8600 points of damage pummeled the Life Point counter.

Cee-Cee: 2 cards, 5000 LP

Hiddle: 2 cards, 0 LP

* * *

Time Lords of South Academy. Right away after hearing the name, Cary knew why Rikuto and Laura were so stressed out for Round 2. Despite Haruki's leadership of the group, his gentle demeanor didn't do much to calm their nerves.

"It couldn't be worse!" griped Rikuto. "We made such a strong showing in the first round and now we have to go up against the **Time Machine Gods**. Stupid zero-point monsters with their insane power levels. It's like battling a whole squad of Slifers and Ras."

Laura paced around, adding, "We must have been set up against god cards in order to make sure we don't upstage the Guardian Duelers. Everyone knows they're the favorite to win this tournament. I'll go file a complaint with Vice-Chancellor Lankford."

"No complaints," said Haruki. Oddly enough, his single statement halted Laura's pacing and drained Rikuto's passionate objection. "There is no cheating going on. We play against a team that rivals the Guardians. If we get victory, we are that much prepared for tougher battles." Cary appreciated Haruki's straightforward approach. If OTK couldn't defeat the Time Lords, then they didn't deserve the tournament win.

"Who is competing in this round?" asked Cee-Cee. She already knew it wasn't her, Fats, or Rikuto since they were the three competitors for Round 1.

Haruki pointed to his girlfriend Miyu and to Cary, which shocked the latter. "Miyu and Cary are calmest opponents against tough foe. I will also duel."

Rikuto and Laura simultaneously protested, which kind of proved Haruki's point about who had the cooler heads. He silenced them by holding up his hand. "If we make it through, we have full team again next round."

Laura sputtered for a second as she fought to keep quiet and not be seen as a whiner. Whining won out. "But Haruki—Strickland is a freshman. What if she ends up facing Sephylon?"

"Then I will not have to," he replied with a smile.

Cary typically opted not to speak in groups. In part she hated the way her voice sounded, and in part she just hated seeming like she was interested in other people's drama. But despite her best intentions, her face betrayed the question, "What's wrong with Sephylon?"

Chika picked up on it and explained. "Sephylon is the strongest one. All the **Time Machine Gods** are based on the Tree of Life. In the _Kabbalah_ , the Tree is called Sefirot, so Sephylon represents all the other, smaller gods becoming one omnipotent entity."

That level of lore sounded far too heavy to be completely accurate. If there had been cards created that were more powerful than the **Egyptian God Cards** , Dave definitely would have mentioned it. But as Chika explained more about the ten different **Time Machine Gods** , Cary felt a twinge of concern. Although she knew enough about Dave and his roommates to possess some confidence facing the Egyptian Gods and their shadows, she had heard nothing about the other god cards until this moment. Not knowing made her more nervous.

"Did they play Sephylon in the first round?" she asked.

Laura sputtered, "No. They ran Metaion, Gabrion, and Michion."

"Yeah, no doubt they will accompany Sephylon with Zaphion, and probably Raphion, too," said Rikuto.

Haruki said, "That is for Miyu, Cary, and me to handle."

Unfortunately there was no way to know which of the duelists milling around the arena held which of the god cards. Cary found herself pitted against a particularly attractive Australian boy—no, he was a man, regardless of his age. In the heat, he wore a short-sleeved t-shirt bearing the South Academy logo emblazoned in gold. Biceps took shape every time he raised his arm to shield his eyes from the sun or to wave at someone. He had the look of someone who intentionally wore the unshaved look at all times.

"Nice to meet you," he said as he took her hand. Despite his size, his grip was firm and perfectly gentle. Even though she didn't respond, she felt her cheeks warm up and worried that she might be blushing. "I'm Hugh."

"Cary," she said. "Pleasure."

"It sure is. I hear a lot of good things about the duelists in your school. I'm looking forward to this." Cary wanted to listen to him talk some more. That accent was melodious to her ears. But the event timing gave them less than a minute for meet and greet before she and Hugh were each ushered to their respective sides of the duel stadium.

Hugh was granted the first turn. "I'll start with _Solar Recharge_ ," he said, his accent as strong as ever. He dropped a card from his hand to draw two more, and then he kept with Lightsworn tradition and tossed two more from the top of his deck. "I'll play another one of 'em," he said, activating a second _Solar Recharge_ and sending even more cards to his graveyard.

Cary knew that if Hugh was playing a Lightsworn deck, this duel wasn't going to last very long. If she didn't pull some amazing draws to complete her OTK strategy, he could get through all the cards in his deck and find that **Time Lord**. Either way, this duel wasn't going to mimic the length of Cee-Cee's duel.

Continuing his turn, Hugh said, "I'll summon Lumina," which was short for _Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner_ (3: 1000/1000), "and activate her effect." When he discarded a card, his summoner waved her bare arms and conjured a purple energy field to access the graveyard. A man rose wearing a full suit of white armor, further armed with a heavy-duty sword and shield. "That effect summons Jain," which was short for _Jain, Lightsworn Paladin_ (4: 1800/1200). "That's all for my first turn," he said. Five cards flew from the top of his deck to the graveyard. His deck was already looking pretty thin, but with effects like Lumina's, Hugh was better off with his monsters in the discard pile.

Cary: 5 cards, 8000 LP

Hugh: 4 cards, 8000 LP

Unfortunately, Cary didn't end up with the ability to implement her OTK or any variant of it on the first turn. She activated _Pot of Duality_ to look through the top three cards on her deck and keep just one of them. After that, she set two cards face-down and ended her turn without a word.

Cary: 4 cards, 8000 LP

Hugh: 4 cards, 8000 LP

"I'll draw," said Hugh as he flashed a set of big, sparkling eyes her way. After he drew, his enthusiasm waned slightly. Motioning to the field, he said, "I'll just attack this turn." First Lumina (1000) jumped out to strike, and Cary let it go. The damage was negligible in her view. Jain's (1800) attack followed close behind, but she still didn't flinch. It was a calculated risk, but she took it in order to prepare for whichever **Time Lord** Hugh ended up revealing.

Cary: 4 cards, 5200 LP

Hugh: 5 cards, 8000 LP

It wasn't until her turn began and she spent the next several minutes contemplating her approach that she began to doubt herself. That cocky grin on Hugh's gorgeous face was disarming—a perfect blend of confident and seductive. Why weren't the guys at her Duel Academy that beautiful?

"Struggling a bit?" asked Hugh.

 _Less because of the cards,_ she thought silently. She returned a look that suggested she had a move, but it wasn't the full OTK that she wanted.

"I say go for it," he said. "You wouldn't want to let me whip out a god card now, would ya? Highest-level monsters in the game, and tough to boot."

Somehow a countermeasure clicked the moment he mentioned that. Maybe she couldn't end the duel right away, but there was a way to avoid letting him summon anything stronger than her monsters.

Without speaking and only letting Hugh read the cards as they flashed on the field and all the monitors, Cary started with _Foolish Burial_ and sent Phalanx to her graveyard. She followed with _Monster Reborn_ to bring _Dragunity Phalanx_ (2: 500/1100) to her field. Immediately she sent Phalanx to the graveyard to summon _Dragunity Arma Mystletainn_ (6: 2100/1500)." The blue dragon disappeared, replaced with a taller dragon armed in yellow plated mail and brandishing a lengthy, curved blade. Cary showed Phalanx to her opponent again as the blue dragon wrapped itself around Mystletainn this time. She quickly detached _Dragunity Phalanx_ (2: 500/1100) as armor and summoned it as a distinct monster instead.

Cary immediately repeated the previous steps until her field had two _Dragunity Arma Mystletainn_ plus Phalanx. She wanted the extra so she could tune Phalanx (2) with Mystletainn (6) and synchro summon _Crimson Blader_ (8: 2800/2600), a tall and lanky swordsman dual-wielding broadswords. Although it wouldn't end the duel directly, this card felt like her new trump card. Hugh had no face-down cards and his monsters had no battle effects. By contrast, her monster was about to halt all summoning of anything Level 5 or higher for the next turn.

Mystletainn (2100) launched through the air and cleaved Lumina (1000) with one, clean swipe. Hugh didn't activate any secret effects, which just gave Cary even more confidence. _Crimson Blader_ (2800) began to dance, whirling his swords with grace and finesse as he pulled them both down on top of Jain (1800). A single win in battle was all Cary needed to activate Blader's effect, but the attack was thwarted when Jain was surrounded by protective wings.

"I activate the effect of _Honest_ ," said Hugh. "Jain (1800 + 2800) gains attack points equal to Crimson Blader's. Looks like that attack didn't go quite the way you wanted it to." To punctuate his point, Jain's glowing wings deflected Crimson Blader's swords and left the warrior wide open. Jain took the opportunity to impale the taller swordsman.

Cary was stunned. She still had her face-down cards to play, but her potential trump card just failed. At least she still had Mystletainn to defend her against Jain (-1800), whose power returned to normal. Her only hope now was that she could last one more turn.

Cary: 1 card, 3400 LP

Hugh: 4 cards, 6900 LP

As soon as his turn started, Hugh grinned at her. "Sorry, love, but it looks like this duel will be mine." Cary had already feared that might be the case, but she tried not to let her expression betray that thought.

"I'll banish _The Agent of Mystery_ from my graveyard to summon _Master Hyperion_ (8: 2700/2100)." His shining, angelic monster filled the field with fire like a living embodiment of the sun.

And then a hole appeared in the ground beneath to suck in all the light. Cary chained _Bottomless Trap Hole_ to banish Hugh's new monster from the field.

"Thanks," he said, offering a wink to her. "I thought you might have something like that. Now I can summon my **Time Machine God**. I think so, anyway." He used the monitor beside him on the duel station to verify the monster count in his graveyard. "Yep. Ten monsters. That means I get to summon _Sephylon, the Ultimate Timelord_ (10: 4000/4000)."

Ten bright lights appeared on the field in the shape of a prismatic crystal, dimming to show a body resembling a game piece with wings formed from the merged energy of the monster's own light. On its chest was a reflective plate with a clouded image of an elderly man. Even though its appearance wasn't imposing, the energy coming from Sephylon was overbearing. The pressure felt like a wet blanket on her shoulders. Now she understood the level of fear her teammates felt for this particular god card.

"Nice, right?" asked Hugh. "What's even better is that Sephylon's effect brings a second monster from my graveyard and makes its power 4000. All those cards I discarded with my Lightsworn monsters, I had a second _Master Hyperion_ (8: +4000/2100)." The same monster from before burst onto the field in a cloud of flame. "What else have you got face-down there?"

Cary winked, unwilling to tell or hint at anything. Hugh would have to figure it out for himself the hard way.

And he was willing to risk it. "Let's get Hyperion (4000) to clear that Dragunity Arma (2100) guy." Her armed dragon was consumed in fire. "Nothing yet? And your field is empty. There's no point in bragging too hard about my win, love. I'll just attack with Sephylon (4000) to end it." When struck by the light that fueled the Tree of Life, Cary felt a range of physiological responses. A rush of warmth felt like a roller coaster—some excitement for the speed, some fear of the unexpected, and some affection for the interplay of endorphins and hormones.

Cary: 1 card, 0 LP

Hugh: 4 cards, 6900 LP

Cary didn't move an inch until the image of Sephylon faded from the duel station. Somehow its presence had her transfixed even as a hologram. When she finally gathered her cards and stepped down, Hugh was waiting there to offer another handshake.

"Hey, you were amazing. Don't take this loss too hard. If I didn't have Sephylon in my hand and the right number of monsters in the graveyard to summon him, you had me up against a wall. And your decision to play Crimson Blader was inspired. If I hadn't stopped it, Sephylon would never get played."

She made a face. First of all, why was he telling her this? Did she look like she needed a pep talk from the guy who just beat her? And secondly, putting him up against a wall sounded like a great way to spend a half hour.

He shied away. "I'm sorry. I'm making it worse, aren't I? It's not my intention to embarrass you or rub it in." His cheeks turned burgundy every time he said something that sounded like a euphemism for sex. Maybe the two of them were secretly thinking the same thing.

"Don't apologize for winning a fair match," she said.

"I was trying not to be arrogant about it. I mean…" He stopped himself and took a deep breath. As the color restored to his face, his nerves appeared to reset. Calmer, he asked, "Would you like to hang out and get something to drink? A lemonade maybe? Nothing too far away so I can be close enough to support my team." The next duelist on the Time Lords team was already heading their way to meet with Miyu.

She smirked, noting the gaggle of giggling girls that waited at the end of the duel station for him to rejoin the crowd. They would be disappointed to see her walking away with him. Part of her wondered why he would even choose her if he could have any girl around, but she managed to suppress that reaction long enough to smile and nod.

His relief was instant and obvious. "Great. I'd love to hear what you think of your school."

"You'll have another duel before long," she pointed out.

"I guess that means you'll have to do most of the talking so I learn everything. Otherwise we might have to get together again after my next duel."

As the schedule unfolded, Hugh didn't have another duel that day. By day's end, only four of the original fifteen teams remained. First thing tomorrow morning, the Time Lords were set to duel against the Norse Demigods. It was set to be an explosive matchup between the **Time Machine God** cards of South Academy and the **Nordic God Cards** of West Academy. Also participating in Day 2 were the Stellar Seniors of North Academy and the Guardian Duelers of Central Duel Academy. (Odds were long on North Academy since their team was the only one left that was not supported by god cards.)

Along with Team OTK – Central, Victorious Secret had also lost. That meant Kasumi was going to need just as much cheering up as Cary did. But at least she had Matt following her around. Cary would have to make due with Hugh, wandering the festival grounds until curfew kicked in and he returned to the cruise ship for the night.

* * *

On the second day, festivity excitement appeared to pick up a notch. So many duelists had spent the first day dreading their own performances in the tournament, or regretting misplays they attributed after losing, that they never gave themselves a real chance to enjoy the atmosphere. With only four teams left to duel, far fewer students suffered the overwhelming pressure.

Don't think that means everyone was having fun: Plenty of students who lost a duel in front of all five schools spent the day in a rut, agonizing over their personal egos. Bryan could understand how embarrassing that must feel, but the counterpoint was: At least they earned the right to participate. Guys and gals like him hadn't measured up to the bar where they were even eligible for a festival duel. Students like that from the other four schools didn't even get to attend. He only had free access because he lived there.

Kasumi had taken her loss harder than she had any right to, so Matt was trying unsuccessfully to get into her pants and help her forget about it. Bryan kinda hoped that Matt would get laid sometime soon. Then he might scale back the obsession after he realized that having sex was not the magical, life-changing event that TV portrays it to be.

Without Matt, Bryan had to find someone else to hang out with. He had assumed the Guardian Duelers would all be stressed out and planning intense strategies to get through the other god card teams, but he found Lucy walking through the vendor stalls with Andy and Wikolia like they didn't have a care in the world.

"Hey, Bro," said Andy, giving Bryan a fist bump. Wikolia waved and Lucy appeared to hide behind the other two. "Having fun?"

He looked around. "The festival isn't exactly what I pictured. It has been exciting to see the duels, though. So many cards I've never seen before."

"Yeah, the other schools always bring a lot of cards that are rare in this area," said Wikolia. She told him about some of the cards she spotted and Andy bought for her at a booth just around the corner. Bryan wondered if he shouldn't find a boyfriend who would buy him sparkly things, too.

"Hey, you know what?" said Andy, grinning at Bryan. He glanced over his shoulder at Lucy, who looked suddenly concerned. "Would you be willing to stick with Lucy? Wikolia wants to check out the Tarot reader but we were trying not to leave Lucy all by herself."

Showing an expression of incredulity, Lucy said, "Thanks, guys. I'm not a child."

"Oh, okay." He turned back to Bryan. "Never mind. I guess she doesn't want you to stick around."

Lucy's expression fell. "You're putting words in my mouth."

Wikolia giggled. "Well, you two figure it out. We're going to get our futures predicted through cards." They scampered off like grade schoolers.

Bryan watched them scurry before stating, "That was the worst setup I've ever been the victim of."

Lucy remarked, "You feel victimized being left with me?"

"That's not what I meant."

She chuckled. "I'm just teasing you. But seriously, I'm not dueling in the next round so I have a ton of time to kill while Erica tries to lead us into the finals. If you're also bored, we can wander around a bit. But you really don't need to babysit me if you have something better to do."

"No, nothing better," he said. She smiled in reply. "Matt's actually trying to be friends with someone else today, so I'm not tied down like usual." Her smile dimmed slightly, but she still looked happy to have company.

The two walked around the stalls for a while, noting some of the foreign cards and discussing strategic ways they could be incorporated into their personal decks. Bryan kept the purse strings tight, but Lucy splurged on a Diagusto Emeral card to throw in for her extra deck. They talked about how stressful midterms were and how the homesickness Bryan felt would be more manageable in his second year but never really go away. Lucy suffered a lot of the same emotions as Bryan during her freshman year, even claiming that she felt like a failed duelist at first. She started out as a bit of a loser until she buckled down in her studies, found herself an upperclassman mentor, and practiced night and day until she finally got good enough to win herself an **Egyptian God Card**.

When the tournament began again, the two sat together to cheer on the other Guardian Duelers. Lucy told Bryan how each school protected their own string of god cards by granting them to the strongest duelists around.

"The first time another school ever came here for a duel was part of a bet," she explained. "Back then, the **Egyptian God Cards** were the only god cards, and everyone wanted them. The chancellor of North Academy, which was the second branch of Duel Academy ever built, wanted to prove his students were the best by winning the cards and housing them at his campus. He lost, of course. Over decades of expansion and challenges, even more god cards were discovered in other regions. They were subsequently scattered to ensure slightly more balance across the schools. North Academy is worst with only three gods. It's probably because of some historical bad blood in the organization. But their cards are plenty powerful."

She went on to tell him the back stories of all the other god themes as the semifinal round ended with the Guardian Duelers and the Asgardians were set to end the tournament in the final competition.

Only minutes later, Lucy has separated from Bryan to stand in front of the outdoor duel arena face-to-face with a tall, black Norwegian man in red and silver who introduced himself as Hroald. Although hers was a brand new face for him to behold, she had seen his before during last year's School Duel Festival. That's how she knew that she would soon find herself facing off against Thor, Lord of the Aesir.

"It is an honor to duel against so youthful an opponent," he said. His voice was thick yet sonorous. "I myself earned my god card early in my school career, but I was a few years older when first enrolled than you are now."

"I hope our duel is up your expectations and mine. It would be a shame for you to come here all the way from Scandinavia and not even put up a fight."

Hroald laughed. "Your vigor is appreciated and much respected. Let us have ourselves a fun duel at the highest levels we can attain." He stepped away and the two arranged themselves on their respective sides of the arena. "Are you ready, young friend?"

Lucy beamed. "Of course I'm ready. I play _Unexpected Dai_. That lets me special summon a normal monster from my deck if it's Level 4 or lower. You ready to see the deck I'm running this time?"

"Of course I am. I can't wait!"

"That's good to hear. I special summon _Ojama Black_ (2: 0/1000)." Her monster was the definition of unintimidating—a creature with a head the same mass as the rest of its body combined. The only protection from flashing everyone was its sparkly, red bikini briefs.

He laughed. "I must say that's not what I expected. An Ojama deck to help you summon a god card?"

"They're pretty good at rushing the field sometimes. Like now, I can use my normal summon for _Ojama Yellow_ (2: 0/1000)." This second critter bore a similar appearance, except with yellow skin and eyes on stalks. "Under normal circumstances these two monsters wouldn't be much defense at all. So I'll defend them with an age-old classic— _Swords of Revealing Light_." Three swords shaped from pure light rained from the sky and struck triangular points on Hroald's field, generating a barrier of light.

"Classic move," he said. "I like it."

Lucy: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Hroald: 5 cards, 8000 LP

"Let's see what I can actually pull off with those Swords in play. Maybe this will get me the card I need. You in the market for some extra Life Points?" He played _Upstart Goblin_ , which offered him an additional card and gave Lucy 1000 points to look the other way.

"Did you get what you need?"

"Not this time. But I can try again with _Pot of Duality_." He picked up three cards and said out loud, "No, yes, no. I'll keep _Twin Twisters_." He put the other two cards back on the deck.

"That was almost no choice at all," said Lucy.

He smiled. "Seems that way, but I'm not going to use it just yet. I don't have the monsters I want, so I'll put one monster in defense position and let the Swords stay. On the other hand, two more face-down cards should keep you guessing just enough."

Lucy: 2 cards, 9000 LP

Hroald: 3 cards, 8000 LP

Lucy laughed to herself. "I'm kinda sorry to do this to you so soon. Remember when there was a brief question of how well Ojamas could support a god card?"

"Yes, that notion does ring familiar. You have another special summon ready?"

"Nope."

"Oh? How will you obtain a third monster?"

"By using yours." She giggled, pleased with her revelation. "I play _The Monarchs Stormforth_. It lets me use your monster with both of mine to summon _Obelisk the Tormentor_ (10: 4000/4000)." A howling whirlwind kicked up on the field. Slow-moving, it first pulled both Ojamas into the swirl and then drew in Hroald's monster. The whirlwind grew more intense before it simply faded out. In its place stood a towering Egyptian—with flawless sinew, black skin, and a pharaonic headdress.

Lucy waited a moment for the majesty of her god card to dwindle. She could tell when the rumblings of the crowd died to a murmur. "The best part is that I still get to attack." Obelisk cocked back with a fist the size of a Mack truck (relatively speaking—the duel station shrunk everything slightly compared to people size) and thrust forth with a punch faster than the speed of sound: The air packed in front of his fist, shaking the stadium and the arena alike. The augmented reality aspect nearly blew Hroald out of his seat.

"That ends my turn."

Lucy: 1 card, 9000 LP

Hroald: 3 cards, 4000 LP

Hroald sat up and put on a big smile. "I don't think any attack from this machine has ever pushed me so hard. I am quite literally blown away. Speaking sincerely, I can see how one with so gentle a soul was able to claim the might of Obelisk. You carry with you the heart of the Egyptian Gods."

Blushing slightly, Lucy said, "Thank you."

"You are most welcome." He drew his opening card and checked his hand. "Unfortunately, combatting an **Egyptian God Card** may wind up beyond the capacity of this humble duelist. For now I must use _Ayers Rock Sunrise_ to bring a beast from my graveyard to defense mode." The monster he summoned was a hefty goat covered in a hide of thick, black fur: _Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts_ (3: 800/100). "Maybe one more card face-down and that's what I can do for now."

Lucy: 1 card, 9000 LP

Hroald: 2 cards, 4000 LP

Lucy drew knowing she had the advantage, but she also suffered a clear setback. "You know the problem with running a speed deck that summons Obelisk? I don't draw a lot of backup for him. I can put one monster face-down and set a card, but Obelisk can only attack your monster. He can't end the duel just yet." Regardless of Life Points being static, the Obelisk Punch delivered a similar force from the duel station, distinctly blowing into Hroald's coat collar. Needless to say, the goat was smashed.

"Destroying Tanngnjostr lets me summon another one from my hand to the field in defensive position." In essence, Hroald had not suffered at all during that turn.

Lucy waved both her palms briefly in a jazz hands type of way. "Since I don't have any more cards, I think this'll be the best time to end my turn."

Lucy: 0 cards, 9000 LP

Hroald: 1 card, 4000 LP

"I was lucky to survive that full turn."

"Not really lucky. You had the right cards in place." She noted the last glowing sword. She felt an inkling that she was about to be happy for the extra defense.

Hroald beamed at her. "Perhaps so. At this juncture, I switch Tanngnjostr to attack position to activate his effect: I summon _Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts_ (3: 1200/800) from the deck." Another goat beast, this one bore a thick, white coat. "I also summon _Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant_ (4: 1200/400) using my normal summon." He played a spritely girl with small wings on her back and a thin sickle in one hand.

Even though she was the youngest of the Guardian Duelers, Lucy was bright enough to know that any instance of three monsters on the field was ominous when dueling against the wielder of a god card. Her suspicion was supported by Hroald's next play.

"Vanadis (4) tunes with Tanngrisnir (3) and Tanngnjoster (3) to synchro summon _Thor, Lord of the Aesir_ (10: 3500/2800)." When the three monsters resonated, they transformed into electricity and rose into the air. In the next instant, lightning struck the field and left behind a man standing almost as tall as Obelisk. He wore a billowing cape and carried by his side a hammer the same size as his massive torso. In his presence, the air felt statically-charged and nearly as shocking as Obelisk made it feel oppressive. Lucy's hair suffered a bit of frizz.

"Thor is amazing," said Lucy, comparing him to her god card. Putting on a playful smirk, she added, "I still prefer Chris Hemsworth, though."

Hroald laughed. "Most do. But one thing Chris Hemsworth cannot do as Thor is to negate all the effects of his enemies. Watch this." Thor raised his hammer high and built up storm clouds overhead. When he swung downward, a powerful bolt of lightning struck Obelisk. The towering Egyptian was hardly singed, but his body crackled. "You know what that means?"

Lucy nodded. "I think I do. You're going to hit him with a spell or a trap now, aren't you?" Normally Obelisk was protected from any effects that targeted him specifically, but now that Thor negated that effect, there was any number of effects Hroald had ready.

The one he chose was _Compulsory Evacuation Device_. A machine that combined a cannon with a springboard appeared beneath Obelisk and launched him into the air—all the way back to Lucy's hand. She sighed and said out loud what they were both thinking: "Now I have to get another three monsters on the field in order to summon him back. Which is that much harder since you have a god card."

Hroald smiled. "If anyone can do it, you will. If it makes you feel better, I am choosing not to waste the _Twin Twisters_ you saw earlier. Even if I destroy your last Sword so I can attack, you have a defense monster. Instead, I will let the Sword destroy itself this turn."

Lucy: 0 cards, 9000 LP

Hroald: 1 card, 4000 LP

As he described, the instant his turn ended, the final of the three shining swords shattered. Now Hroald was free to attack on his turn.

"Like you said before, I don't have a lot available to take down a god card right away. I'll put another monster face-down and end my turn."

Lucy: 1 card, 9000 LP

Hroald: 1 card, 4000 LP

Hroald pointed at Lucy with fake indignation. "This is just in case you do manage to play your Obelisk again. I place _Nordic Relic Draupnir_ on Thor (3500 + 800) to give him a point boost higher than Obelisk." Thor sprouted emerald-studded bracers that made his muscles more efficient. "I will also set one more card." After using his trap that removed Obelisk, he now had three unknown cards. "That's good for preparation. Thor (4300), attack!" His monster launched himself across the field, pulled by the weight of his hammer.

"I chain _Pinpoint Guard_ ," said Lucy. "I get any monster from my graveyard Level 4 or lower back to the field, plus it can't be destroyed this turn. I summon _Ojama Black_ (2: 0/1000)." There was a soft chuckle among the crowd upon seeing her poorly-proportioned monster again, although not as much as the first time. (Less surprising this time.)

Her trap didn't stop the attack, though. Thor's hammer obliterated _Nimble Momonga_ (2: 1000/100). Responding to its destruction, an identical monster scrambled to the field, face-down.

"Do you not summon two of them?" asked Hroald.

Lucy sighed. "It's my other face-down monster."

Hroald chuckled. "How unfortunate for you not to get the full effect of the card. But that happens." He opened his arms to reveal two empty hands, much like Lucy had earlier. "This time I am the one without cards to play."

Lucy: 1 card, 10k LP

Hroald: 0 cards, 4000 LP

Lucy stared at her cards for a moment, her eyes frequently flicking up to look at Thor (+4300) on the field. "You just keep those extra attack points, don't you?"

Hroald said, "Yes. Draupnir is an equip spell. It stays as long as Thor stays. Unfortunate for you, yes?"

"Yeah. I got three monsters on the field again, but if I summon Obelisk he won't be able to do anything." She chuckled. "There's a sentence I haven't said more than once since I got Obelisk. For now the only thing I can think of is kind of risky… but what the hell? I'll summon _Baby Raccoon Ponpoko_ (2: 800/0)." Her monster was a tanuki the size of a housecat with a double-sided bongo strapped around his shoulder. "At least this lets me fill my field a little. I get to summon any of my Ojamas to the field since they're Level 2." She looked through her cards for a moment. After pausing for a second to consider one of them, she settled on Ojama Blue (2), face-down.

Hroald laughed. "You had me scared for a second. I thought you would hit me with Ronin Raccoon."

Shaking her head, Lucy said, "Of course I would. But that's by overlaying Ponpoko (2) with Black (2)." Her two monsters stacked on top of one another and transformed into a tanuki clad in red samurai armor. " _Number 64: Ronin Raccoon Sandayu_ (2: 1000/1000),"

"That's what I expected."

"You must have figured that out because of his effect. When I detach an xyz material from this card, he summons a _Kagemusha Raccoon Token_ (1: ?/0) to the field." The token took the form of a floating tanuki carrying two jugs, most likely containing alcohol, except that they were holographic and so only contained light waves. The jugs were tied end-to-end by a rope. "Kagemusha Raccoon (+4300) grows to match the strongest monster on the field." As she spoke, the smaller raccoon quickly inflated until it was the same height as Thor, although more portly. "That's more like it."

"Oh, no," said Hroald with a chuckle. "You found the only monster that matches Thor with his boosted power."

"Looks that way. So it would be silly not to attack and have these two powerhouses destroy each other." Kagemusha began twirling his jugs while Hroald popped a magic belt around Thor's midsection.

"I use _Nordic Relic Megingjord_ to double Thor's (3500/2800 x 2) attack and defense points double for the rest of this turn." Thor grew even larger than he already was, and electricity began to crackle from his entire body. As soon as Kagemusha threw one of the jugs, Thor caught it in his free hand. Lightning struck him and traveled the length of the rope until it zapped Kagemusha and the token became nothing more than a grease smear on the field.

Lucy watched her Life Points plummet. "Well that definitely was not how I planned it."

"No, I expect not."

"Hmm. Now my Ronin Raccoon is vulnerable. I guess the only real option for protecting him is the flip my _Nimble Momonga_ (2: 1000/1000) to attack mode." Her face-down card revealed a flying squirrel. "I mean, I'm going to take a ton of damage either way. Your points are only doubled for this turn, right?"

Lucy: 1 card, 7300 LP

Hroald: 0 cards, 4000 LP

"That's right," said Hroald as he drew.

"Then yeah. Just something to draw you away from my other monster, I guess. Maybe I can try again next turn, you know?"

"Makes sense," said Hroald. "I will have Thor (+4300) attack Ronin Raccoon (1000) just to deal the Life Point damage." While Thor threw himself across the field again, Hroald dropped his head into his hands. "Oh, no! I made a mistake. I should have used Thor's effect first to negate _your_ monsters' effect. That way I could kill Ronin Raccoon."

Lucy smiled. "Oh, you're right." Thor smacked her monster hard with that hammer, but the staunch samurai regained his bearings and resumed his fighting stance. "So you have to settle for Life Point damage this turn."

"I'm so dumb," said Hroald with a humble chuckle as he ended his turn.

Lucy: 1 card, 4000 LP

Hroald: 1 card, 4000 LP

"No, not dumb. We all make misplays every now and then. They track it in the Pro Leagues. No one would care about that stat if it never came up."

"But now you might play Obelisk again."

"Yeah, probably." Of course, the situation hadn't changed much. Obelisk was still weaker than a powered-up Thor, but Lucy definitely saw the value in sending three of her four monsters to the graveyard to bring back _Obelisk The Tormentor_ (10: 4000/4000). "I'll use Ronin Raccoon's effect one more time to bring out another _Kagemusha Raccoon Token_ (1: +4300/0)."

"What do you think this time?" asked Hroald. He still had two face-down cards, which could be just about anything by this point in the duel.

Lucy hemmed and hawed for a moment. "Well, the chances that you have another Megingjord seem pretty slim…"

"Excellent pronunciation, my friend."

"Thanks! So with that said, all odds say I'll be fine if I attack. But that's why I'll use Obelisk's effect instead." Obelisk grabbed both of the raccoons on her side of the field instead of assaulting Thor. "By sacrificing two monsters, Obelisk grows strong enough to wipe out your field entirely." Having drained the energy of the two raccoons, Obelisk clapped his hands together firmly. The sound echoed through the arena like thunder louder than anything produced by Thor's lightning. Despite the power of his Nordic Relic, Thor was overwhelmed by the wave and succumbed to it. The static charge that had filled the air now faded, and Lucy felt her hair settle back down. "Unfortunately he can't attack the turn he uses his effect or else the duel would be over already. Since I can't do that, I'll put one card down and end my turn."

Lucy: 0 cards, 4000 LP

Hroald: 1 card, 4000 LP

Faced now with the same god card again and no defense of his own, Hroald looked far more nervous as he drew. Instantly his fears were abated. "This works out well for us. You were able to re-summon your god card, and now I will do the same to mine, using _Monster Reborn_." A glowing ankh appeared on the field, shining brightly and then fading to darkness as _Thor, Lord of the Aesir_ (10:3500/2800) reappeared within the energy.

Lucy beamed. "You really are quite masterful with that god card."

"Look who's talking! You're a year younger than I am with less dueling education. I don't even know if I can beat you, but I'm sure willing to try. Thor attacks with the power of a second _Nordic Relic Megingjord_ to double his points once more." Thor (3500/2800 x 2) hurled himself across the field toward his towering opponent. As he flew, the magic belt returned to his midsection.

"Aw, man," said Lucy moaning, but with a smile on her face. "You almost tricked me. All I had was _Trap Stun_." When her trap revealed itself, her field and Hroald's both jolted with a powerful shock that negated the effects of all other traps.

Thor's magic belt faded just before he collided with Obelisk. The immovable Obelisk was pushed back and brought to a knee from the collision with Thor's massive hammer, but he was far from out. Putting all his return strength into standing up, Obelisk planted his fist into Thor's belly. His devastating uppercut broke every bone in Thor's body and shattered him. The blowback knocked several points from Hroald's counter,

Hroald retained his smile but now with a note of solemnity and humility. "I end my turn."

Lucy: 0 cards, 4000 LP

Hroald: 1 card, 3500 LP

"You chose not to surrender?"

Hroald chuckled. "Feel the tension from the crowd. They would be devastated not to see a god card end this duel. I will take my loss with dignity. It is an honor to be brought down by a real **Egyptian God Card**."

Smiling brightly, Lucy accepted his resignation. "Very well. For the last time this duel, Obelisk attacks." Obelisk unleashed another earth-shattering punch that almost knocked Hroald off his feet again. The blast echoed for longer than usual before the arena shut down.

Lucy: 1 card, 4000 LP

Hroald: 1 card, 0 LP

And so ended the team duel tournament. Central Duel Academy had won the final duel for the fourth consecutive year. When all scores were finalized across the teams and categorized by school, Central Duel Academy still retained the overall superiority of their dueling teams. The final days of the School Duel Festival left up for determination the outcome of the singles tournament. Of the top-ranked duelists in each school's age groups, who would emerge triumphant?

* * *

 **Apologies for the late update. I just returned from a week-long vacation where I completely neglected to work on finishing the chapter. In the next chapter, I'll show a sampling of the singles tournament duels, and then I really promise (I keep saying that) to lunge forward with the story. If there is interest in helping me get these chapters out sooner, I can use help with writing out the duels and proofreading drafts. PM me if you are interested.**

 **Thanks to _HardWrapping_ for contributing Cee-Cee to the story. That was such a long duel, but it was surprisingly fun and crazy-overpowered in the end.**

 **I tried a new presentation for the duels this time, separating every turn with a hand and LP update (not just when someone's LP change). This was a suggestion from _EdTheSexoBeast_. Hopefully you like the change and it helps make everything clearer.**


	13. Battle Royale

Chapter 13: Battle Royale

For the first time since the School Duel Festival began, Bryan actually grabbed a program as he and Matt wandered from their dormitory onto the festival grounds. After how many duels occurred during the past two days, he was eager to keep track of at least a few names for the singles tournament. Maybe he wouldn't memorize them all—names were tricky sometimes—but at least having an idea of who was competing seemed like a great way to track anyone whose style he liked.

"So the fact that the **Egyptian God Cards** managed to win the tournament against the other god cards implies that maybe they really are the originals. No power lost, everything in the Kaiba Corp. programming chip still registers exactly as they should."

"Are you still on that?" asked Jack. "I was sure you'd given up your Nancy Drew tendencies."

Matt made a face. "Hardy Boys, please. But if you must insult me by comparing me to a girl, I prefer Veronica Mars."

"Nah, she's too badass for you."

Kenny added, "She is beautiful, that Kristen Bell."

"Those are my two best qualities," Matt insisted.

Bryan put his hand on Matt's chest and pushed, stopping him from moving. Matt's eye traced Bryan's arm from hand to shoulder. "What, are you the immovable wall all of a sudden? Don't make me unleash my unstoppable force. That's how we lost the train station."

"You're keeping secrets from me," said Bryan.

Matt squinted at him, trying to figure out the code. "Um…?"

Flipping around the program, Bryan pointed out Matt's name among the list of participants. "You didn't mention that you were the one representing first-year Duel Academy students for this tournament. You said that girl-woman Sydney was."

"Yeah, that was who I suspected they would choose."

Kenny chuckled from beneath his ten-gallon hat. "I knew he was in it. They posted the names on the website Monday last. The main restriction is they don't let anyone participate who was part of the teams tournament."

"Plus they base the selection on the Slifer with the highest rank," said Jack. He smirked at Bryan. "I know he told you it was based on age, but it isn't. Sometimes they select someone from the girls' dorm to use in place of the other students, but not a Slifer. They'll only replace a Ra or an Obelisk boy. Slifers are part of the tournament specifically to be ridiculed."

"How do you mean?" asked Bryan. The idea of throwing any student into a tournament just to laugh at him seemed unreasonable, even if Matt was unbothered by it.

"Since we're at Duel Academy – Central Primus, everyone naturally assumes we get the home field advantage, possibly even cheating to make sure we win. Throwing in a Slifer is a show of good faith since it's common knowledge we're the lowest ranks on the totem pole."

Matt threw out there, "How hard would it be to put a red jacket on an Obelisk?"

"Nah, the chancellors from the other schools get to review the basic records of the students participating," said Kenny. "They at least know your name, school rank, and home residence. Maybe a bit more, but you c'n bet the other schools checked up on you to make sure you're a real Slifer."

Thinking for another moment, Matt offered, "What about a body double? Surely my measurements aren't part of my permanent record."

Kenny shrugged and Jack looked away. They didn't have a counterpoint for that possibility. Bryan was the one who said, "Can you think of one person who looks enough like you to pass scrutiny in the hundred-fifty people who go here? And I'll do one better: Given your snarky personality, is there even one person who likes you enough to win a tournament in your name?"

"Touché," said Matt. "Fine. I confess that I am dueling today." He muttered under his breath, "In front of everyone."

Bryan chuckled. "You're going to tell me you get stage fright? You? The same guy who shouted a made-up story to Christina Anch in the cafeteria in the hopes that making her laugh would convince her to go out with you?"

"Stage fright isn't the issue," he said. "I'm all too happy to show off a bit. Especially if it gets Lucy's attention or gets Kasumi wet."

Jack asked, "So what's the problem? Maybe if you win a duel, you can get a little foreign strange. Some of the visitors are even cuter than Lucy." That was a hardcore lie. Jack just wanted to turn Matt's attention away from his crush. Bryan was still trying to pretend there was no potential drama there because he didn't want to be in the middle of feuding roommates.

When Mitsuro Itachu walked by, Bryan jumped at the chance to get away. She liked to talk about the Navy, so there would definitely be a different conversational track. He almost tripped over himself as he cut her off. "Hey, Mitsy. Nice bandanna. How you doing this morning?"

She made a face. "What do you need?"

"What? I have to need something just to say 'hi' to a friend?"

"You're coming on a little strong. We're not really that close, and you're not my type."

"What? I mean we're study-buddies for stats. Isn't that good enough?"

Mitsuro cracked a smile. "I'm messing with you. I'm doing fine. Still a little frustrated by losing the teams tournament, but recovery is closing in. Anyone who can't deal with defeat won't last long at this school."

Bryan chuckled and pointed to himself. "You're talking to a master at recovering from loss."

She nodded solemnly. "Sorry. Not what I meant."

"No apologies needed. Just get me away from Matt and his obsession with the stolen god cards from last year and we'll call it even. Actually, I'll even owe you one."

"Deal. Follow me. But seriously, shouldn't Matt be getting ready? At least putting on his uniform?" Matt was dressed in blue shorts and a red t-shirt with a tyrannosaurus logo that was meant to resemble the uniform of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.

Bryan sighed. "No, I suspect he intends to duel exactly like that."

After following along and joining up with a few of Mitsuro's friends, Bryan found himself sitting beside a group of students from North Academy when Matt finally reached the duel station. Whether as an attempt to avoid embarrassment or by authoritarian pressure from the faculty, Matt had finally donned his red jacket—although he half-assed it by tying the sleeves around his neck like an ascot. His opponent was a guy from East Academy who looked a few years older—maybe twenty years old or so.

"You find it funny that the American academy is called East Academy when America is supposed to be the prime example of western culture?" he asked.

Emily Li turned from her seat in front of him. She was short to begin with; being a row down made her look downright tiny to him. "I'm not sure the US is the best example of western civilization these days," she said.

He conceded that point. "Yeah, I can't really argue. I can restate my point and describe America as _traditionally_ the exemplar of western society."

She shrugged. "Better, I guess, for an American. Imagine if you were British and heard an American saying his culture represented the best."

"Are you British? I didn't mean to offend."

"No, offense is natural for Americans," said Mitsuro. Bryan thought about arguing, but he remembered that she was definitely half-American, despite having a Japanese name. Her American side was the source of her obsession with the US Navy. She further cemented her status as an American when she added, "But we're all a little bit British. They're the Great Colonizers."

Emily chuckled. "That's true enough."

Bryan looked at Emily and smiled. He hadn't intended to be creepy, but he held the grin a second too long and she winced. "What?"

"Sorry. It's just that I never figured you two to hang out together."

Mitsuro said, "Emily doesn't hang out with pretty much anyone, which is what makes us perfect friends. We're both here for school first, personal development second, and socialization a distant third."

"Maybe build a minor reputation before leaving school," Emily added.

"That, too."

Bryan listened closely as Dr. Arbus introduced the singles tournament. "As the welcomes were extended more than two days ago, I will forego the boring pleasantries you have heard many times already. Following the grandeur of the Tournament of Teams, the School Duel Festival presents the Duel Academy Singles Competition. Know first that every competitor has proven himself or herself to be outstanding in the field of dueling.

"This competition begins with every duelist bracketed by school dormitory. Although requirements for each dorm vary, the essence of the original Duel Academy exists. We will complete two brackets today; the third will conclude tomorrow morning, and the festival will finish with a battle royale between the three bracket winners."

The murmur through the crowd took almost five minutes to quell. Bryan had to ask, "What's a battle royale?"

Mitsuro was first to respond. "Basically, three duelists play at a time with no additional restrictions. It's up to the duelists themselves to decide how to battle. You can end up with two players teaming up against the third, or everyone just aims for whoever has the least Life Points."

"Fewest," said Emily, correcting her.

"Right. The point is: There's no telling how a battle royale will play out."

Bryan whistled impressively. "I wonder how Matt will handle that."

"He has to win first," said Mitsuro.

Matt's opponent was an older-looking first-year student from East Academy. Garry Daher was a hairy guy who looked like he had to shave three times a day just to keep a five o'clock shadow. If he had a superhero identity, all he'd have to do is wear a beard for a disguise and then shave it off when he was out of costume.

Bryan was trying to pay close attention to the duel, but he noticed movement out of his peripheral vision and turned to see Sydney King wading through the bleachers in his general direction. He was sure she had another target besides him—why would a woman that attractive and a few years older want to talk to him?—but between moments of staring at her feet to make sure she didn't step on anyone or their things, Sydney would look up and lock eyes with Bryan. All doubt faded when she sidled onto the bleachers right beside Emily.

Sydney said, "Got something for you to think about with this duel."

"Oh?"

She motioned to Matt's opponent. "That guy is a former pro. You might not know him already since he's a minor leaguer. But trust me, he is not a beginner."

Bryan scoffed as a rush of emotions filled him. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. Don't ever doubt me."

Emily scrambled on her phone. A moment later, she turned the screen toward Bryan. "Yep. There he is. Different last name but it's easily the same guy. My guess is East Academy picked him as a ringer, exaggerating someone's inexperience in order to put him in a lower bracket. Looks like he is actually enrolled as a student, at least. They figure as long as they win the lowest round, then they'll have a great chance at the grand prize."

"Is that why you aren't the Duel Academy rep for this?" asked Bryan.

"I'm not on the same level with everyone else here. As a former pro, there's no contest. My role in this tournament would be to make Duel Academy look good through cheating. That's not what I'm here for."

Mitsuro shrugged. "Wouldn't surprise me to find out a little bit of light cheating is a tradition for this festival. There have been times when I wondered whether Matt was actually just a plant to make the school look good."

"No way," said Bryan. "I'm the one who taught him how to duel. I mean, we've been together ever since sixth grade when I moved. He never spent enough time away from home to be a secret dueling pro."

"What about before you met?" asked Mitsuro.

Bryan hesitated, but he did shake his head. "No. No, I don't think so. He'd have to make some kind of national headlines to be that kind of child prodigy. At least one TV interview or something."

Sydney tilted her head to the left and then to the right. "Maybe. Usually there are interviews with anyone capable of high-level dueling at that age. But that fact that no one here ever saw it or heard of him is hardly proof. His pro career could have been short and quiet. It happens sometimes."

"Not with him, it wouldn't," said Bryan.

Emily sheepishly added, "No offense to Matt, but his arrogance and overconfidence are consistent with someone who used to be a pro and thinks he's currently playing below the level he deserves."

"I'm just saying there's no way." He hemmed and hawed as he struggled to figure out how much information he could divulge without excessive embarrassment. "Matt's family is not rich, and his dad is the kind of guy who wouldn't think twice about exploiting his son if it might bring him any kind of monetary benefit. If Matt was ever a pro, his dad would ride those coattails forever. I would know by now."

To himself, he added, _I think._ After all, Matt didn't start hiding things from him until they arrived at Duel Academy. He couldn't have been lying all along, could he?

Down at ground level: Matt drew his opening hand, made a face, and then played a card to give him more options. "Thank god this was my opening hand," he said. He exaggerated every word as if he were putting on a really bad stage performance. "If I drew these cards in the same sequence late in the duel I'd be so screwed. Maybe if I draw two more cards I'll be okay." He activated _Allure of Darkness_. The field turned black under a veil of shadows that swirled around his deck. "I'll take two cards," he said as he checked out his new hand, "and then I'll banish _Dark Magician_ (dark). He can nullify the darkness so we can see the field again."

Garry chuckled. "Are you always this dramatic?"

"Just wait," said Matt, smirking.

Matt: 5 cards, 8000 LP

Garry: 5 cards, 8000 LP

Making a face of his own, Garry asked, "Did you mean to end your turn without playing anything?"

Matt leaned across the table horrorstruck. "What? Oh, shit! I must have hit the wrong button. Can I have a do-over?"

Dr. Kerr made a face as she shook her head. Garry looked just as confused as to how someone like this could be allowed to perform in the School Duel Festival.

Sitting back in his seat, Matt put his arms behind his head and relaxed so much that it seemed like his former outburst was an entirely different personality. "Oh, well. I guess it's your turn, then. As long as you don't pull off an OTK, I'll have a chance to come back."

Garry assessed his cards carefully, ultimately taking much longer than Matt had to regard each of them and consider their effects. By the time Matt yawned theatrically, Garry was ready. "I normal summon _Machina Gearframe_ (4: 1800/0). Summoning that lets me move a Machina card from the deck to my hand." An orange Transformer-type figure appeared on the field. For the life of him, Matt was unable to figure out what it was supposed to transform into.

"Next I special summon _Machina Fortress_ (7: 2500/1600) by discarding monsters totaling seven stars." This blue Transformer was far easier to identify; between the treads and the enormous cannon hanging off its shoulder, this "fortress" was clearly more of a tank. "And I special summon a second one." Now two tanks aimed their cannons directly at Matt.

"Uh oh," uttered Matt in a fearful tone. Three attacks launched his way and devastated his Life Points. When the holographic smoke cleared, Matt was still in his exact same position. He wiped fake sweat off his brow. "Whew. That wasn't as bad as I thought."

Garry laughed. "You're a weird guy. But at least you get one more turn, like you wanted. One more thing, first. Invoking _Machina Gearframe's_ effect as a union monster, I'll equip it to one of my _Machina Fortress_." The orange transformer jumped onto the back of the left-side tank and flattened out. Its body became an extra plate of armor.

Matt: 5 cards, 1200 LP

Garry: 1 card, 8000 LP

"Alrighty. I'll begin my turn with _Elemental Hero Prisma_ (4: 1700/1000)." The only E-Hero in Matt's deck fell to the field in a superhero landing as if it had been flying overhead the whole time. As Matt discarded, Prisma's reflective body turned from a glassy, prismatic hue to a darker, purple color. "Since I discarded one, Prisma becomes a Dark Magician for this turn, more or less."

"He doesn't have the same attack points," said Garry.

"That's very perceptive," Matt pointed out. "That's very good. Nothing gets past you at all. Are you sure you're a first-year student?" He winked at Garry dramatically, pretty sure that no one watching knew how to interpret that correctly. "But Prisma is just enough Dark Magician for me to play _Dark Magic Attack_." Unfortunately for Garry, Prisma's imitation attack was able to wipe out all of his spells and traps, including _Machina Gearframe_ since it was equipped to another card.

"Good enough, right? Wrong. Prisma can also use the magic of _The Eye of Timaeus_." A massive, emerald-colored dragon emerged onto the field. Both of its eyes gleamed. "Fusing these two gives me _Amulet Dragon_ (8: 2900/2500)." More teamwork than fusion, the monster that resulted resembled the Dark Magician standing on Timaeus's back while golden runes encircled the dragon's skin.

Garry whistled. "That's a pretty rare card."

"Literally the only thing I could find that works with Timaeus," said Matt, not even looking at the field. Considering the versatility of the card, he didn't sound serious. He dug through his graveyard and pulled out the _Allure of Darkness_ from earlier. "This is the only spell in either graveyard right now, so I banish it to give _Amulet Dragon_ (2900 + 100) another hundred attack points. And now we attack the unguarded _Machina Fortress_ (2500)." Timaeus loosed a powerful blast of blue energy so focused that it ripped straight through the tank's thick armor and triggered an internal explosion. Fragments struck the dragon's massive hide and caused Timaeus to disappear.

"Whenever _Machina Fortress_ is destroyed by battle," said Garry, "I get to choose a card on your field to destroy. Naturally I choose the only card you have in play."

"Good call," said Matt. "Luckily for me, _Amulet Dragon's_ disappearance lets me summon _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) from my graveyard as backup. Ah! That move gives me another idea. I'll equip _Dark Magician_ (2500 + 7*100) with _Bound Wand_. It gives him 100 more points for each level. That way you can't kill him so easily with that other Fortress (2500)."

"Good call," said Garry.

Matt said, "Hey. Are you mocking me?" Garry just shrugged. "I see what you're doing. I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

Matt: 0 cards, 1200 LP

Garry: 1 card, 7500 LP

When Garry drew, his face remained completely stoic. Of all the opponents Matt ever dueled, including himself in a mirror, this guy was the hardest to read. "I normal summon another _Machina Gearframe_ (4: 1800/0), and then I initiate battle."

"Battle?" Matt repeated. "But my monster is bigger than yours."

"For now. _Machina Fortress_ (2500) attacks _Dark Magician_ (2500 + 700)." The cannon fire emerged at speeds enough to level a mountain, but the Dark Magician was ready for it. Empowered by the Bound Wand, he was able to generate enough magic to grab the tank shell in the air, spin around with it, and hurl it straight back at the attacking tank. The Fortress exploded much like the previous one had... and just like in that explosion, its shrapnel fragments struck the Dark Magician and made him disappear, wand and all.

"Remember that when my Fortress is destroyed I get to pick a card on your field to destroy with it," said Garry.

Matt smirked. "Remember that _Bound Wand_ also has a second effect in which it revives the equipped monster whenever they are both sent to the graveyard." Once again, his _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) leapt to the field out of the jaws of defeat. "Now you can't attack me with that Gearframe thing."

Unfortunately for Garry, Matt was right. _Dark Magician_ (2500) was stronger than _Machina Gearframe_ (1800) and prevented an attack that might otherwise have depleted the remainder of his Life Points.

Matt: 0 cards, 1200 LP

Garry: 1 card, 6800 LP

Matt drew, scanned the full field with a circular roll of his neck, and then played a card. "I'll summon _Breaker the Magical Warrior_ (4: 1600/1000)." His monster wore armor that resembled red magician's robes, hardened for close-range battle. A shining Spell Counter was embedded on the hilt of his sword, raising his attack power by 300 points. "Let's get Breaker (1600 + 300) to destroy Gearframe (1800)." After channeling magical energy into the blade of his short sword, Breaker completed a series of swift swipes to dismember each of Gearframe's limbs before it disappeared.

"That leaves you wide open for attack by _Dark Magician_ (2500)." A powerful wave of black magic from the Magician's staff smothered Garry's side of the field. "That's all."

Matt: 0 cards, 1200 LP

Garry: 1 card, 4200 LP

Garry was finally slowed by the lack of cards in his hand. It wasn't like he couldn't figure out how to play his two cards; he just wasn't sure of the best move. Matt couldn't blame him for being thoughtful, but ever since he started listening to the advice Bryan was getting from Dave and Andy, Matt was more aware of dead draws. The fact that Garry was getting cards that he could barely use at a critical juncture in the duel was testament to the weakness of the deck itself. No wonder Garry never made it out of the minors.

Finally he placed a spell in the field spell zone. "I'll play _Geartown_." A highly industrialized city sprang to life on all sides of the field, each building marked by cogs helping to support its structure.

Matt: 0 cards, 1200 LP

Garry: 1 card, 4200 LP

"That's it?" asked Matt. He made a face and appeared to scrutinize the field. "Obviously you look wide open, but as long as you have a card in play, the field can be deceiving. I'll use Breaker's effect to destroy Geartown." Breaker held his sword high. The magic in his sword's spell counter grew so bright that it burst and the light faded. A moment later, all of Geartown crumbled into debris.

Slowly the rubble began to slide along the ground. Taking shape with each passing second, the rubble transformed into the patchwork _Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon_ (8: 3000/2000). Smiling, Garry said, "When you destroy Geartown, I can summon any Ancient Gear monster from my deck."

Matt nodded. "Sneaky. That's a good play. Big dragon. Strong, too. But not immune to stuff. I play _Dark Renewal_." He turned over his face-down card from earlier and created a gilded coffin on the field. Breaker and Gadjiltron Dragon both turned sheer and see-through. "When you summon, I sacrifice your monster and one of mine to summon a dark spellcaster from my deck. Let's see if I can come up with one." He coincidentally pulled the very next card from his deck and placed it on the field. "Why not? I'll play another _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100)." A duplicate Magician appeared on the field, twins with their purple magician's robes and immaculate facial features.

Up in the stands: Bryan reacted out of nowhere, which caught Mitsuro's attention. "What's wrong?"

For a second, he wasn't sure if he should say. It was kind of a secret, maybe, that Matt owned five different copies of Dark Magician. He had three of the classic purple-robed cards, but he also owned one each of the red and the black versions. Sometimes he liked to mix the three colors in his deck, unless he was worried about his opponents learning too much about his cards. After some statistical explanation that went over Bryan's head, Matt specified that he only played three different versions when he felt there was little effort needed. If he was worried at all about the opponent cracking his deck's code, then he played all purple magicians instead.

"Just surprised," he said. "Matt seems to actually be taking this tournament seriously."

Matt pointed playfully at the field. "Time for a couple of big direct attacks. This should end the duel."

Garry shook his head. "Normally it would, except I have _Swift Scarecrow_ (1: 0/0)." A scarecrow constructed from scrap metal and given the Hogwarts Sorting Hat plus two sticks for defense sprang up from the field as if it had been hiding the whole time. Somehow those two sticks managed to absorb the dark magic and demoralize both Dark Magicians. "When you attack directly, I discard this guy to negate the attack and end your battle phase."

Frowning, Matt said, "Bummer. I guess that ends my turn, then. You must have been holding that card for a while. Here's hoping you get a countermeasure." He held up his hand with two fingers crossed.

Matt: 1 card, 1200 LP

Garry: 0 cards, 4200 LP

Garry sighed with defeat when he looked at his next card. Inevitably, it was an Ancient Gear monster too big to summon right away. "I end my duel," he quipped.

"Nice word play," said Matt, smiling and chuckling. "I like you. This is definitely not personal at all." Both of his _Dark Magicians_ (2500) filled the field with dark magic that choked and eliminated the remainder of Garry's Life Points.

Matt: 1 card, 1200 LP

Garry: 1 card, 0 LP

Matt's victory brought actual cheers from his classmates. Despite not having any social bond between them, they were all united by their association with the school, which carried between them a natural appreciation for anyone capable of defeating the players of another school. The next round went just as well for him, even if it was a bit more sluggish. In the fourth round, Matt showed signs of slowing down. His wit lost some of its point as he struggled to a near loss against a deck built with Satellarknights. As far as Bryan could tell, a win was a win. But Mitsuro insisted Matt would have soundly lost if the other player had not misplayed his last move. Based on the look on Matt's face, it was true and Matt was fully aware of it.

That's what made the fifth round even tenser than it should have been. Despite one poor showing, Matt had made it to the final round of the 3rd-tier singles tournament. As if spitting in the face of all the people who mocked him for applying to Duel Academy with a deck based on the Dark Magician, his opponent used the same deck theme.

Matt hated looking Leo in the face because he knew that Leo should be facing a different opponent. Nonetheless, Matt was the one who walked away with the win and made his way into this final round. He may not have won the way he wanted to, but a win only had one meaning no matter how it came about.

Leo—more accurately his name was pronounced like "Reo" if you discounted his Japanese accent—was excited to find out that he was facing another Dark Magician deck. Never in his life did he guess the final round would be between classical decks, no matter how prestigious the tournament was.

"Isn't this intriguing?" he asked Matt.

Rolling his eyes, Matt replied, "I think a better word is _ironic_."

"Oh, sorry. Is that because the Dark Magician is one of the first cards ever and it's weird that such a classic card is still relevant?"

"No. It's because everyone thinks that classic card sucks," said Matt flatly.

"Oh. Well I don't think so. It just needs the right support to be good, like any card does."

"Yeah, yeah. We might as well show them what them what happens when two Dark Magicians face each other. Looks like I'm up first."

As soon as he looked at his deck, Matt hesitated. He fidgeted for a moment, which popped the lesser knuckles on his right hand. He suddenly realized he had zoned out and was brought back rapidly to the moment. With a jolt, he looked up at Leo and forced a gentle smile. Finally he grabbed his cards and gave them a look, his expression falling again.

With nary more than a nod, he set one card face-down in the spell zone. "I'll play Prisma," he said while the field generated the reflective body of _Elemental Hero Prisma_ (4: 1700/1000). He flipped over the top card of his extra deck to show _Dark Paladin_ , and that effect sent Dark Magician from the deck to the graveyard so that Prisma reflected the spellcaster's image. " _The Eye of Timaeus_ ," he added, watching a dragon with gleaming, emerald scales merge with Prisma. The result was _Dark Paladin_ (8: 2900/2400). Matt waved his hand briefly to indicate his turn was over.

Matt: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Leo: 5 cards, 8000 LP

"That's a good opening move," said Leo, trying to rekindle Matt's excitement from a second ago. "Not sure if I had the same luck in my opening hand. I'll use _Pot of Duality_." A large ewer bore a stoic, serene face on one side as it offered three cards. The opposite face showed a greedy goblin that demanded to have two of the cards returned. After doing that and watching his deck get shuffled, Leo continued. "I set one card face-down and one monster in defense mode. I play _Onomatopaira_ to move two monsters from my deck to my hand." He had to discard to activate the effect, and Matt noticed that he discarded a Dark Magician.

After grabbing his new cards, Leo said, "Your move."

Matt: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Leo: 4 cards, 8000 LP

Matt sighed at his hand, which suggested that he had far fewer cards available to play than he actually did. " _E - Emergency Call_ ," he said, which let him move another copy of Prisma to his hand. After another hesitation, he said, "Paladin attacks."

Leo grinned. "You activated my trap card: _Fiendish Chain_." Before Dark Paladin could position himself for attack, he was ensnared by copper from all directions. Not only could he not move, his power was drained so that he couldn't use his other effects anymore.

With a shrug, Matt said, "Okay. Another Prisma." Repeating the effect from earlier, he sent another Dark Magician to his graveyard to have Prisma take on a resemblance. But the resemblance soon faded as Matt ended his turn there.

Matt: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Leo: 4 cards, 8000 LP

Leo eagerly said, "I play _Gagaga Magician_ (4: 1500/1000)." His magician wore blue and red magician's robes and wielded a chain as both a weapon and an accessory. But he didn't get to strut his stuff before the ground swallowed him whole.

" _Bottomless Trap Hole_ ," he said.

"Oh, lucky move," said Leo. Matt scoffed at the comment, but Leo continued anyway. "I'll set another card and end my turn."

Matt: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Leo: 3 cards, 8000 LP

With hardly any consideration to his hand, Matt sent Prisma (1700) to destroy Leo's _Gagaga Girl_ (800). The field was wide open, but he had nothing to attack with since his Dark Paladin was immobilized. He dropped (almost literally) two cards face-down and ended his turn.

"During your End Phase," said Leo, "I'll chain _Eternal Soul_. I'm sure you know this one." Matt nodded while a stone monolith rose to prominence on Leo's field. Slowly the shape of a Dark Magician etched into the stone, and then a _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) appeared on the field.

Matt: 1 card, 8000 LP

Leo: 3 cards, 8000 LP

"Now I use _Eternal Soul_ again," said Leo, this time taking _Thousand Knives_ from his deck. "First I use _Thousand Knives_ to destroy _Dark Paladin_." Matt's chained monster was quickly skewered by flying blades. "Next I summon another _Gagaga Magician_ (4: 1500/1000). His effect lets him change to level seven for the duration of the turn, and that means I can overlay _Dark Magician_ (7) and _Gagaga Magician_ (7) to summon _Ebon Illusion Magician_ (7: 2500/2100)." His monster looked like a shorter Dark Magician with black robes, darker skin, and long, blonde hair. But this monster emanated tremendous power. "I activate Ebon's effect by removing one xyz material to summon _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) from my deck." The taller Dark Magician appeared on the field beside his more powerful counterpart.

"When _Dark Magician_ (2500) attacks, Ebon banishes one of your face-down cards at the same time." Prisma (1700) was shattered beneath the dark magic while a separate, piercing wave of magic shattered a _Mirror Force_ wall before it could even activate. "So now Ebon (2500) attacks directly." He smiled through the blast of magic and sat back in his seat. "That ends my turn."

Matt groaned as he sat up and flipped over his face-down card: _Eternal Soul_. A monolith identical to the one on Leo's field stood up and towered over his deck. The shine of the etching brought out another _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100), this time on Matt's side of the field.

Matt: 1 card, 4800 LP

Leo: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Before Matt even drew, he said, "I'll summon another one." A second _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) sprang from his graveyard. " _Dark Magic Attack_." When the Dark Magician attacked, he targeted not the opposing monsters but the very monolith that shared their power with them. Even though the stone generated a great deal of power on its own, Matt's card overloaded that power and brought the monolith to crumble. As it did, the ruptured magical energy disintegrated all of the monsters on Leo's side of the field.

Matt was left with a perfect opportunity to strike with both _Dark Magicians_ (2500) and take the lead. "One card face-down," he added. He sounded pretty sullen for a guy who just wiped out his opponent.

Matt: 0 cards, 4800 LP

Leo: 2 cards, 3000 LP

Leo took in a deep breath as he drew, and apparently he was pleased with the level of luck his breathing habits gave him. "I play _Mystical Space Typhoon_ ," he said. A dangerous whirlwind whipped up around Matt's copy of _Eternal Soul_ , ready to duplicate the monster-destroying effect Matt had just demonstrated.

Suddenly both of Matt's Magicians stepped in. They cast a spell from their staves that circled the monolith and balanced the energy so that it would not rupture. " _Dark Magic Expanded_ ," he said. Expanding briefly on his own words, he grumbled, "Two Dark Magicians, so you can't destroy my spells and traps this turn."

"Aw, man," moaned Leo. "That is such a lucky draw. I guess I just set one monster and end my turn."

Matt: 0 cards, 4800 LP

Leo: 1 card, 3000 LP

He probably didn't mean those words in the way Matt took them, but hearing just the briefest level of deflection from Leo got Matt feeling defensive. He thought his loss wasn't his own fault? Well, how was he going to like it when Matt used the effect of _Eternal Soul_ to play another _Thousand Knives_ to skewer Leo's last line of defense and then let the two _Dark Magicians_ (2500) go to town on him? With two thunderous waves of dark magic, Leo's Life Points disappeared as quickly as Matt's patience.

Matt: 1 card, 4800 LP

Leo: 1 card, 0 LP

Amid the roar of the crowd, Matt flashed a cocky smile to those around him. He waited long enough to collect his cards and hear Dr. Kerr announce him as the winner of the third-tier tournament. The second his name was mentioned, and before the announcement concluded, Matt began ambling away from the stadium. Basking in the temporary fame and glory of winning a low-level tournament didn't thrill him. All he wanted at that moment was to get out of the spotlight.

Before he reached the Duel Academy building, he received a text message from Bryan asking why he ran off so quickly. Matt hesitated a moment and then texted back, **Too hot. Getting out of the sun for a while. I'll be back.** But that was an exaggeration. He had no intention of returning to the festival today. He cut straight through the building to the vending machines outside the cafeteria, grabbed himself a sandwich and a soda, then made his way to the Slifer dorm. He avoided the main paths so he wouldn't have to see or talk to anyone. After snaking through the trees behind Ra and strafing the harbor, Matt slipped into his room, certain he got there unnoticed.

He lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling unthinking as he read through his textbooks. He knew he was missing the most exciting bits of the tournaments—the top-tier students dueling it out—because Bryan kept texting him a play-by-play. He hoped that Kasumi would reach out looking for him, but there was radio silence from her apart from a single text of "Congratulations!" She was probably having too much fun with her friends to realize he wasn't around. It would be easy enough for him to text first, but he didn't want to disrupt her fun.

Bryan was getting a little too excited about the tournament during the final match. Kai Jackson was taking his Blue-Eyes cards to task up against a Dark World deck when everyone pretty much expected him to be a shoe-in for tournament champion. Matt decided to ignore the live-texting just as there was a knock at the door. He remained quiet and pretended not to hear it. Soon thereafter, the ID reader outside beeped and the knob began to shake. Based on the string of texts, Bryan was still at the festival, and he couldn't imagine Jack leaving early. Who else would have access?

Dr. Arbus and his striking nose came through the door. It occurred to Matt in that moment that he hadn't seen his guidance counselor in profile before. He could chop wood with that nose. Once he flicked on the light, his nose matched his face much better.

"I didn't realize faculty had free reign of the dorms," said Matt.

With a gentle smile, Dr. Arbus said, "We're expected to maintain the peace. That's why they give us access to watch over our students."

"Universal dorm access makes sense. What's unusual is the lack of personal space afforded to the students."

"I knocked."

"And I didn't answer," continued Matt. "Some linguistic experts interpret that as an invitation to go away and not come in."

"After the way you legged it away from the festival following your victory, I wondered if it wouldn't be necessary to check in on you. A more typical response to adoration is a swelling sense of self-worth. Your reaction appears to be the opposite."

Matt swung his feet and dangled them over the side of the bed. He put on an expression as sincere and undisturbed as he could muster. "I'm perfectly fine. It's hot outside, and I don't like crowds. Call me introverted."

Dr. Arbus nodded. "Scarcely have I heard a greater understatement. Is your downturn in attitude related to that misplay by Mr. Glover in the semifinal round?"

Matt showed no visible reaction except to ask, "You noticed that, too?"

"Almost everyone noticed, I'm sure. What baffles me is that your opponent got overeager and forgot to declare an attack, yet you appear to be the one suffering from embarrassment."

"It's not that confusing. You said it yourself: Everyone knows that I only won that round because of a fluke mistake by my opponent. I'd say that's plenty embarrassing. Maybe I just don't want people judging me right now—looking at me and thinking about how I'm not truly qualified to participate in tomorrow's battle royale duel."

Dr. Arbus folded his arms over his chest. He squinted, which accented his crow's feet. His age was starting to show, and here he was trying to understand the mindset of a teenager. Most annoying—he seemed to know Matt was lying.

"You don't strike me as one bothered much by public shame. I have heard you discuss quite private matters among your friends in between classes." He winced with a shy grin. "And honestly, I would have expected more resistance from you if you felt ashamed."

"Maybe I'm just honest."

"But not with yourself. And not with me."

Matt sighed and rubbed his face. His gaze drifted to the cards stacked on his desk. Arbus noticed.

"Your deck? Are you so distraught over being in a situation where you felt helpless to duel out of your situation?"

"No," said Matt gruffly. "Jesus. If this shuts you up… I'm feeling disillusioned with dueling. Okay? Happy now?"

Dr. Arbus pulled out the wooden chair at Matt's desk and sat, facing the triple-stacked beds. "Is it the prospect of loss that gets you?"

"Of course not. I've lost before. Not often, but no one wins _all_ the time. The problem is I won by luck." He stopped and corrected himself. "Actually, it wasn't even luck. It was a moment of absentmindedness by another duelist. He was stupid for two seconds, and I needed that in order to win. There was no way for me to win without his stupidity."

"So it is that feeling of helplessness that got to you."

"No, it's wondering how many other times I should have lost but won by some kind of sheer, dumb, unconventional luck. Am I even good enough to be where I am, or does everyone else keep making mistakes at the exact moment I need it? I'm not saying being a loser is my long-term goal, but the truth is far more interesting to me. If my deck needs to be different in order to win legitimately, it's important to know that."

Dr. Arbus smirked. "Would it make you feel better to duel against me? I guarantee I will not misplay. Perhaps Dr. Lankford or even Dr. Kerr would prove a swifter, more dangerous opponent than I. Even so, the associate professors of Duel Academy carry nearly the same strength. I have many years of experience under my belt."

Matt sat still for a moment. Halting the swing of his feet didn't really aid the thinking process, but it felt like the thing to do while he considered the offer. Dueling against a professor was a great way to make a point about his skill. On the other hand, there was no way Dr. Arbus was going to duel his best right then. No matter his words, he was going to let Matt win. Matt couldn't see the duel ending any other way.

"I'll pass this time."

"Suit yourself." Dr. Arbus stood and walked to the door. "Bear this in mind. In all my years of dueling—study, practice, and witness—I have learned that a duel victory comprises the following factors in proportion: fifteen percent cards in the deck, ten percent how you play the cards, fifteen percent the cards in your opponent's deck, ten percent how your opponent plays, and a whopping fifty percent random chance. There's no getting around it. As long as the principles of physics and probability hold up, random chance will heavily influence the outcome. Think on that while you finish sulking." He pulled open the door and flicked the lights back off as he left Matt sitting in solitude in the dark.

Matt obviously didn't want to agree with Dr. Arbus and his views, but he had to admit the role of statistics in a duel. He questioned the exactness of the figures, though. Maybe after he solved the mystery of who stole the god cards, his next project could be creating a legitimate statistical formula for how to win a duel, though he'd probably have to study up on linear regression or something for a formula that complex.

The next morning, Bryan knew there was something wrong with Matt when he bothered to get fully dressed in the school uniform. He zipped his jacket completely and even borrowed an iron from Fats' roommate to press his pants. That was a skill Bryan didn't even know Matt had. He tried confronting Matt about his sudden interest in abiding by school policy and presenting himself with full professionalism. He sat with perfect posture throughout the entire morning tournament where Duel Academy's representative from Ra—a guy of Indian descent named Joel Chakkal—lost in the semifinals. Matt was the only remaining duelist representing Duel Academy. After lunch, he was all set to face off against a second-year student from North Academy and a third-year from West Academy.

"I'm excited to be here with you gentlemen," he said as he shook their hands.

Sergiu Luca was short and slender. He had a distinct Slavic accent when he said, "A deck with Dark Magicians is decent for first-year. You think it will help against us?"

"I think that's what we're about to find out," said Judge Morgan. He was also not too tall, but he was bulky like he lived in the gym, like a smaller, flesh-toned version of the Incredible Hulk. He was clearly older (than Matt, not the Hulk), and his Irish accent gave away his school even more than the blue and silver colors of his uniform. "It's refreshing to see a deck based on one of the very first monsters do even this well."

"Remember when that guy who used Dark Magician in Grand Prix tournament two years ago?"

Judge whistled. "Oh, man. That was a disaster. He lost Round 1."

Matt knew they were psyching him out, but he refused the bait. With only a smile, he said, "Today we find out if he would have performed better with a Duel Academy education."

Both Sergiu and Judge snickered at the comment. The difference was Sergiu expressed derision whereas Judge was legitimately entertained. He slapped Matt on the back. "Let's see what you can do with one semester passed. May the best man win, yeah?"

Moments later, Judge was given the first turn. With him seated to Matt's left side, that meant Matt would take the last turn in the sequence. In order to balance the field for three separate players, the first player to go would skip his Draw Phase, and no players were allowed to attack on their first turn. After that, the players were free to attack whomever they chose—even to form secret alliances, if so inspired.

Judge was the type of guy to describe his moves in detail. "During Main Phase I, I'll set two cards face-down." He thought for a moment further. "I'll also normal summon _Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World_ (4: 1600/1300)," a demonic monster armored in bone and wielding a lengthy polearm. "End Phase."

Matt: 5 cards, 8000 LP

Sergiu: 5 cards, 8000 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Sergiu was up next. Contrasting Judge's approach, Sergiu chose to say as little as possible. "Allure," he said, referring to _Allure of Darkness_. While the holograms shrouded his deck in shadow, he drew two new cards and banished a monster from his hand. Summarizing the rest of his turn briefly, he said, "Set five. Summon Beast," which referred to the dark-colored, canine monster known as _Infernity Beast_ (3: 1600/1200).

Matt gaped at the five cards he set, but Judge only snickered and sent a few verbal jabs his way. It wasn't a surprise to see the Infernity strategy after Sergiu won the 2nd tier tournament before lunch, but now Matt was left to wonder what was under all five of those cards.

"I chain the activation of _Mystical Space Typhoon_ ," said Judge. He indicated the card in the middle space. A whirlwind whipped up around it before lightning struck, and then Sergiu was left with only four face-down cards. He smirked at Judge, perhaps building the desire for a one-on-one duel between the two of them.

Matt: 5 cards, 8000 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 8000 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP

For his first turn, Matt felt more overwhelmed than usual. Infernity and Dark World were among some of the fastest deck types—something to dwarf the speed of his Dark Magician build. As he considered all the cards in his hand, he came up with one strategy that would impair the remainder of the duel for all three of them. Was it the best possible move or the worst?

Why not find out? "I also play _Allure of Darkness_." The same shadows surrounded Matt's deck as he drew new cards and banished a monster. "Now I'll drop one card to summon _The Tricky_ (5: 2000/1200)." His monster was the size and shape of a man, wearing a full-body jumpsuit including a mask. The question marks on his chest and face gave him the air of a jester.

He ignored the rumbling of the crowd and the few stray comments he heard about how The Tricky was a useless card that furthered his pathetic imitation of Yugi Mutou. Despite their comments, he had a different use in mind. "That was a special summon. For my normal summon, I play _Night's End Sorcerer_ (2: 1300/400)." His card turned into a small, pale boy carrying a heavy-bladed scythe. He wrapped the blade around The Tricky, and both monsters began to glow. "I'm going to synchronize these two into _Black Rose Dragon_ (7: 2400/1800)." A storm of rose petals swarmed the field and created a flowery dragon. Suddenly the grumbling about a Yugi-themed deck stopped cold.

"You know this card, right? I don't normally put a lot of synchros in my deck, but this just felt right for today. You see, after the two of you cover the field in cards, Black Rose obliterates everything, including herself." When the dragon exploded, rose thorns rained down and pierced the field. Every card that was placed on the field by any player was instantly destroyed.

Sergiu and Judge grudgingly shoved all their cards straight to their graveyards. Judge commented, "That one's gonna hurt you, ain't it, Serge?"

Sergiu was unimpressed, dismissing the situation with a huff. Fortunately for him, Matt didn't have anything else to play at the moment. That move was kind of a faith call, hoping for something else later to swing the duel his way.

Matt: 3 cards, 8000 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 8000 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Judge couldn't help but smirk now that the field was wiped completely clean. "I got nuthin' but to set one card," he said, placing a card in his spell/trap zone. "End Phase. You're up, Serge."

Sergiu didn't look any more pleased, considering the only card he had to play was the one he drew. At least that one card put him at an advantage. "Beetle," he said, in reference to his _Infernity Beetle_ (2: 1200/0), which resembled a Hercules beetle with exceptionally large horns. Sergiu didn't indicate his attack target verbally, but his eyes flicked in Matt's direction just before the beetle buzzed Matt directly. Given that was Sergiu's only card, his turn ended automatically.

Matt: 3 cards, 6800 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 8000 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Given the situation, and knowing that Sergiu thrived on having no cards in his hand, Matt knew he was taking a risk by emptying his hand. But at least it would tilt the duel in his favor.

Starting out, he said, " _Mystical Space Typhoon_ ," and a small storm on the field destroyed Judge's face-down card beneath the crackle of lightning. "Next, I'll summon _Effect Veiler_ (1: 0/0), but only so that I can play _Magical Dimension_." His small, winged spellcaster disappeared inside a massive sarcophagus, suspended above the ground by chains. "My monster disappears inside the sarcophagus, but then another monster takes her place. Meet _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100)." When the chains receded and the sarcophagus opened, the famed magician with the purple robes appeared, powerful and ready for battle. Magical energy spilled out of the sarcophagus and infected the Beetle. Seconds later, the Beetle crumbled. "As a bonus, opening the sarcophagus destroys one monster."

"We get it," grumbled Sergiu. "Is not a unique card."

"Sorry to offend. I only wanted to be thorough. And fair, I suppose. I'll have _Dark Magician_ (2500) attack you to pay back that Beetle attack earlier." A wave of powerful magic emerged from the end of his staff and slammed hard into Sergiu. "That ends my turn."

Matt: 0 cards, 6800 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP

"Well, this is a difficult set of circumstances," said Judge. "I guess I have to start Main Phase I by playing _The Gates of Dark World_." Towering doors appeared in the front of Judge's field, separating him from his card zones. As the doors slid open on creaky hinges, a low fog spilled onto the field. "I get to banish Beiige from my graveyard to discard a monster and draw a new card. And I discard Broww, so I get to draw again." A new card emerged from the gate, face-down on the field. "Ah. Gotta set one card and end my turn."

Matt: 0 cards, 6800 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Sergiu was equally unimpressed with his hand. He set his only card face-down as well. For a moment, Matt thought it funny how much luck was involved in this duel. As much as he struggled from time to time, so did even the best of duelists, as long as the cards weren't there.

Matt: 0 cards, 6800 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP

Matt drew his next card and played it immediately. " _Elemental Hero Prisma_ (4: 1700/1000)."

"Nah, that's no good," said Judge, opening his face-down card. "Chain _Bottomless Trap Hole_. Can't have you attacking with two monsters now." An endless abyss opened underneath Prisma's feet and dragged him from the game.

"That's fine," said Matt. " _Dark Magician_ (2500) will pay you back for that." Another wave of black magic burst from the staff, this time parting the fog on Judge's field and smothering his Life Points.

Matt: 0 cards, 6800 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5500 LP

Judge drew again. "Better," he said. He didn't strike Matt as the type to let something like that slip unless he was ready to play something big. " _Dark World Lightning_." Lightning filled the air between the three fields, crackling indistinctly before it struck Sergiu's face-down card.

" _Infernity Break_ ," he replied, chaining the activation of his card before it could be destroyed. He banished an _Infernity Beetle_ from his graveyard, and the spread of Infernity energy from the Beetle's remains infected the _Dark Magician_ this time, destroying it in kind.

Judge smiled. "Even better. When I discarded—" as part of Dark World Lightning's effect "—Goldd, he then summons himself." _Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World_ (5: 2300/1400) emerged from the graveyard, his fiendish body shimmering in the fog. "Also summoning Gale," which referred to _Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind_ (3: 1300/400), a bird the size of a young boy with a head of green feathers and a body in blue feathers.

Grinning at Matt, Judge continued, "Since you're the reason we're in this mess, I think I'll let both my monsters take out our frustrations on you."

Matt endured both attacks, completely defenseless to do anything about it.

"In Main Phase II, I'll summon _Stardust Dragon_ (8: 2500/2000)." His two monsters tuned together, transforming from gold and blue into a bright white, shaping itself into a celestial dragon on the field. "That ends my turn." And it was a great way to end it; _Stardust Dragon_ ensured Judge had protection against a wealth of damaging effects that might come his way. It had only been a matter of time before luck carried the duel into someone else's favor again.

Matt: 0 cards, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5500 LP

Sergiu drew his card and, without a twitch in his facial muscles, let loose a slight gleam in his eye. He turned his card around for the others to see and then dropped it on the duel station. _Infernity Archfiend_ (4: 1800/1200) was special summoned thanks to Sergiu holding no cards in his hand. Unlike Matt's deck, Sergiu was better off without cards in his hand. Because Archfiend also let Sergiu pull another Infernity monster from his deck to his hand. He chose another copy of _Infernity Beetle_ (2: 1200/0), which he immediately summoned.

He stared at the field for a short time. Matt got the distinct impression that Sergiu would attack him directly if he could deal enough damage to remove all his Life Points—for no other reason, perhaps, than to get rid of the Slifer. But since he would come up shy, he was considering the actual level of threat offered by _Stardust Dragon_. As a card capable of protecting other cards, it would pose a difficult challenge in the remainder of the duel. When all was said and done, Sergiu seemed inclined toward eliminating the real threat.

"Synchro Gaia," he said. Archfiend and Beetle resonated from the sound waves of the vibrating Beetle horns and transformed into _Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth_ (6: 2600/800). A warrior armed with heavy armor and dual lances raced along the ground astride his armored horse and thrust his lance through Stardust Dragon's bony exoskeleton.

Judge grinned and leaned back. "Yeah, that was probably the right choice." The two guys exchanged a few friendly jabs while the system closed out Sergiu's turn.

Matt: 0 cards, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP

No matter how Sergiu and Judge approached the duel, Matt just assumed he was going to be on the difficult end of it. Maybe Sergiu attacked him first as revenge for the Black Rose Dragon, or maybe it was because he preferred to let Judge reach second place. The two guys knew each other already, even though they attended different schools. As he gazed through the crowds, he realized a lot of the students knew people from the other schools. He felt like the only person who consciously chose not to affiliate with anyone else, including the people of his own, small campus. In all possible ways, he was the outsider for this duel. He had gotten here by luck, and he never felt less like the person who should be on-stage.

Matt drew and responded by instantly ending his turn. In the best case, he wished that he actually could disappear. Sergiu and Judge would be better off having this duel without him, anyway. Besides, what was _Magician's Rod_ going to do against _Gaia Knight_?

Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP

In a contrasting decision, Judge drew and immediately announced, " _Dark Hole_." Sergiu's powerful monster was drawn into a void in the center of the field and consumed. Grinning, Judge continued, " _Gates of Dark World_ 's effect: Banish Goldd, discard Beiige, draw one card. Then Beiige special summons himself." A second copy of his fiendish spear-wielder joined the field. "Now you get payback for destroying Stardust." Lumbering across the field, _Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World_ (4: 1600/1300) thrust his spear into Sergiu's Life Points.

"You should take out the other guy," said Sergiu, finally proving that he just wanted Matt out of the duel.

"If you wanted to focus on him, you shouldn't have killed Stardust," said Judge.

Sergiu shrugged. It was hard to argue with that.

Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP

Unfortunately Sergiu couldn't return the favor. He placed a card face-down to end his turn.

Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP

And then Matt did the exact same thing. He wanted to disappear, but he didn't necessarily want to lose. Leaving himself wide open was definitely not his preference. So one face-down card was all he had to offer.

Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP

Judge chuckled when his turn started. "Me again so soon?" He groaned at his hand, probably filled with high-level monsters or something, considering he was holding onto them for a while. "I guess this time I'll attack the new guy."

"I'll chain _Scapegoat_ ," said Matt. Four fluffy sheep bounded into existence on his field, each covered in different-colored wool.

"Ah, you're kidding," said Judge. "I probably should go after Serge now, but I'd rather get rid of the sheep." Beiige (1600) bounded across the field and destroyed one of Matt's _Sheep Tokens_ (1: 0/0). "End Phase."

Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP

Though they offered him a decent defense for now, the Sheep were defenseless themselves. That point was driven home again when Sergiu summoned his third _Infernity Beetle_ (2: 1200/0) and destroyed another one of them.

Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP

Suddenly Matt got the feeling he would be less the center of attention if he had just not made a play last turn. On the other hand: Two turns passed since he practically gave up and his opponents had made no significant moves at all. The amount of luck involved in the game was ridiculous.

Or was it really that much luck? Maybe everyone else was just worse at dueling than they touted themselves. Literally, Matt just needed one card to reclaim the duel. Since he didn't draw it the first time, maybe he would draw it if he played one more card. "Let's do _Pot of Desires_ ," he said. A two-sided ewer hit the field, but this one didn't have a dignified face like the Pot of Duality played by so many other duelists. One side had the green face of a goblin with golden teeth, but the other side had a face more like a pink orc with cut gems for teeth. In total: an ugly dish desirable only by the utterly extravagant.

"I draw two cards, and the next ten cards from my deck are immediately banished." Matt barely took notice as a chunk of his deck flew away from him. He bust out laughing when he looked at his new cards. Only Judge seemed to care which cards were banished, too. He searched the list through his monitor.

"You lost two Dark Magicians and two Dark Magician Girls, plus a bunch of other Dark Magician support," he commented. "I see Prisma in there, too. You certain that was a good move?"

"Statistics means never having to say you're certain," said Matt, quoting a t-shirt he saw one time in a novelty shop. "But yeah, I'm sure. I'll put one card face-down and end my turn."

Matt: 2 cards, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP

Judge rolled his eyes. _The Gates of Dark World_ weren't too helpful without monsters to banish. Whatever else he was holding wasn't doing what he expected, either. What was he waiting for? Surely with so many cards in his hand, he had something worthwhile. Maybe he was waiting until someone else played something devastating so he could counter it appropriately? Or maybe he really did have a series of dead draws.

First he set one card. An obvious ploy at this point. Then Beiige (1600) ambled across the field to fillet another _Sheep Token_ (0) before Judge ended his turn.

Matt added, "I might as well bring this up now. I play _Eternal Soul_." His familiar monolith sprang to life, emanating magical energy as Matt collected _Thousand Knives_ from his remaining deck.

Matt: 3 cards, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP

As soon as Sergiu touched his deck, Matt activated _Eternal Soul_ again. "This time I'll take _Dark Magic Attack_." Even though no one asked, he shrugged at Sergiu. "Just in case you try to get rid of it this turn."

Groaning, Sergiu sent his Beetle (1200) to destroy Matt's final _Sheep Token_ (0), and then he placed his only card face-down.

Matt: 4 cards, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP

Matt pursed his lips as he nodded. "Bad luck, guys. Your turns could not have gone any better for me. Let's do this." Judge tilted his head in curiosity while Sergiu only scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Wouldn't you believe the luck? I drew this on my previous turn. Would have played it then, too, if not for the restriction." He slapped down a second _Pot of Desires_ and watched another ten cards fly out of the game. But at least he got to draw two new cards. His deck was running thin by this point, and he couldn't care less.

"Alrighty then. The real fun starts by discarding a card to special summon _Apprentice Illusion Magician_ (6: 2000/1700) from my hand." She bore a striking resemblance to Dark Magician Girl if she were a bit younger, had darker skin, and wore lavender robes. "I'll also summon _Magician's Rod_ (4: 1600/1000)," which was bizarre as a Dark Magician's staff that stood and hovered through the air as if held by someone invisible. "Summoning this card lets me move _Dark Magical Circle_ from my deck to my hand. And I'll activate it now." A glowing, runic circle appeared on the field in his spell zone. "With this card, I look at the top three on my deck…" He did so. "…select one of them that mentions 'Dark Magician'…" He showed Dr. Lankford as proof. "…and put the other two back.

"Now, for the coup de grace…" He intentionally mispronounced all three words _a la_ Bugs Bunny-style. " _Eternal Soul_ activates to summon that _Dark Magician_ (7: 2500/2100) that I just discarded." The glowing images on the monolith gave rise to the familiar and powerful wizard, adorned in black. "Let's show the audience what you bring to the table, starting with _Dark Magical Circle_." The runic circle was empowered by Dark Magician's rise. The magic coursed over Infernity Beetle and banished it from play.

"Next up: _Dark Magic Attack_." As he laid down his spell card, Dark Magician blasted a wave of darkness across both Judge's field and Sergiu's field, wiping away their face-down cards. Neither of the duelists was able to chain their effects. "Now it's time for _Thousand Knives_." Dark Magician appeared to chant some minor spell to himself which created uncountable numbers of knives in the air. With a flick of his wrist, the knives all skewered Beiige and destroyed it.

"Time for the Battle Phase. _Dark Magician_ (2500) takes the lead by attacking you, Judge." As the Dark Magician pulled back his staff to cast a spell, Matt placed another card on the field. "I'll add to it _Dark Magic Expanded_. Since I have one Dark Magician on the field, he gains 1000 attack points for this turn." Judge was forced to endure an even stronger wave of dark magic than ordinary. "And right behind him is _Apprentice Illusion Magician_ (2000)." She swung her scepter and cast an attack that depleted all of Judge's points. The lights dimmed dramatically on his side of the duel station.

That left Matt with one target. "Your turn, Sergiu. _Magician's Rod_ (1600) goes first with a direct attack." The floating staff cast a spell similar in scope to that of the Dark Magician.

Sergiu reached for his deck, but Matt interrupted him. "Oh, no. You don't get a turn. See, I have one more card." Suddenly his Dark Magician disappeared in a veil of swirling light and shadow. "I play _Dedication through Light and Darkness_ to transform my Dark Magician into the _Dark Magician of Chaos_ (8: 2800/2600)." The new magician wore black leather decorated by belts along his arms and legs. His headdress was enormous and did little to tame his wild hair. He wielded an ebony staff longer and sleeker than that of his smaller incarnation, yet still just as devastating when he launched a concentrated ball of dark magic straight into Sergiu's Life Points.

Matt: 0 cards, 3200 LP

Sergiu: 0 cards, 0 LP

Judge: 2 cards, 0 LP

There was a moment of stunned silence as the lights dimmed on Sergiu's corner. Matt's corner powered down last, followed by bright images of celebration as Matt's name was displayed on the arena screen with the word "CHAMPION" emblazoned in fancy font.

Matt collected his cards and offered a bright smile. "Thank you, gentlemen. That duel was tremendous fun. I do look forward to the next time we meet up. May we all be better duelists then." He left his two opponents to their momentary stupor. Sergiu appeared to be flustered beyond the capacity to speak while Judge was only disappointed in himself. He at least managed to put on a dissatisfied grin and nod his acceptance of Matt's skill.

Ushered away from the crowd by Dr. Lankford, Matt was able to duck away from the bulk of the gaze coming his way. For the next few hours, at least, most of it would a mixture of adoration and awe over winning the School Duel Singles. Tomorrow, everyone would be back to their intense study habits and building decks to beat him back down to Slifer level. He would only have until curfew at the end of the closing ceremony after-party. He eventually caught up with Kasumi, who embraced him excitedly, and with Bryan, who also embraced him with just as much excitement. Both of them questioned his use of cards they hadn't seen in his deck before. He refused to tell, saying only that he changed the synergy of his deck when he realized he would duel in a battle royale.

Instead of the usual dinner buffet, Duel Academy staff put together a hefty banquet as part of the closing ceremony for the School Duel Festival. Dr. West stood in front of everyone thankful for a successful festival in fostering intermural camaraderie, demonstrating tremendous skill and sportsmanship, and in granting him bragging rights over the other chancellors for one more year. Matt suspected from the level of disgust on the faces of Dr. West's counterparts that some form of gambling accompanied his bragging rights—something they didn't want to advertise or encourage to all the students.

Following the speech was a catered dinner of dishes not normally available to Duel Academy students: fancy cheeses, meat from animals not normally eaten, vegetables that tasted good without gallons of dressing, and the kinds of fancy dessert that normally cost a week's paycheck. The problem with four-course meals on an island in the Pacific is that few other cultures offer serving sizes the same as in the States. While Matt was sated by his meal, Bryan grumbled about wanting a few more calories.

Dinner was followed by dancing and general merriment, but remarkably few students took the opportunity to dance. Pockets of students moved to the dance floor in clusters of slight twitching and spasming that could be labeled as "dancing" if one were so eager for it. Bryan wandered off in the hopes of cutting a rug, joined by a few of the Guardians and some of the South Academy students. Matt was content to remain seated by himself. He checked the time and figured that thirty minutes was plenty for him to claim he partied before he headed back to the dorm.

Unfortunately for him, Cary was not much of a dancer. She slid into Bryan's seat beside him and immediately made a face that suggested the seat had been warmed by a large, quadrupedal mammal, such as a buffalo or a hippopotamus.

"Are you here for your cards?" asked Matt.

Cary shrugged. "Not sure yet. They aren't doing anything for me."

"You're actually considering letting me keep them?"

"In trade, perhaps. Nothing is free."

"Fair enough."

It turned out Justin was also not a fan of dancing, but he was plenty fond of cracking sarcastic jokes with Matt and generally being near Cary. If he was trying to be subtle, he failed.

"Dude, you realize that winning that tournament will only make you a bigger target than the placement exams did, right? You beat a bunch of the best duelists from all of the Duel Academies worldwide. Everyone's gonna want a piece of you."

 _It was mostly luck,_ Matt thought to himself. "It was all a demonstration of my impeccable skill," he said out loud. "People would be crazy not to come after me."

Cary snorted. "Don't count on it, Slifer Slacker." Her expression made it clear that she only mocked him to make it clear that a lot of people were still incapable of looking past the color of his jacket… even if he wore it by choice.

"Okay, maybe some people. But check out Kai."

The contact was brief, but Matt just barely caught Kai Jackson eyeing him from across the room before he pointedly looked away.

"You see that?" asked Justin. "Kai wants to pitch an old-school duel."

Cary shook her head. "No, he doesn't. He's completely unconcerned with Matt compared with Haruki and you and Dave. He thinks this doofus just got lucky and isn't worth the time to challenge."

Justin frowned. "He just became singles champion of all the Duel Academy campuses. How can someone like that not be worth challenging?"

"Like you said: He's old-school," she said with a shrug. "As an Obelisk, he'll never deign to issue a challenge against a Slifer." She cast a sidelong glance at Matt, which he immediately took to mean that she wanted _him_ to challenge Kai instead.

He smiled. "A duel between the Dark Magician and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon would be interesting. Nice throwback to old stories of Yugi Mutou. Maybe one of these days. For now, I'm considering whether or not to change up my deck entirely."

"Oh, yeah? Why the sudden change of heart?" asked Justin.

"Just something I'm considering. No decisions yet."

* * *

 **I know I say it a lot, but I seriously need to dial back the duels a bit. Having so many duels in a single chapter is why it takes me so dang long to write this stuff. Seriously, I'm better at banter; those sections just roll right off the fingertips. Thanks go to the readers who contributed characters making an appearance in this chapter and help to support Bryan and Matt along the way.**

 **The next chapter will focus on the semester finals and thinking about what's to come over the break. Anyone who read my previous attempt at this story will have an idea what that is. 80)**


End file.
